I am furious that Americaβs children and adolescents are endangered by two manufactured products βopioid drugs and e-cigarettes β all either marketed to children or easily found in the house or on the street. When I get this angry I know somebody is making money preying on our kids.
We parents and grandparents must be aware of these dangers and do all we can to protect our children from these products.
Dr. Sharon Levy, Adolescent Substance Use and Addiction program of Boston Childrenβs Hospital and Harvard Medical School, writes that, although there have been opioid epidemics in the US before, βThe current epidemic of opioid addiction had arguably been the most recalcitrant β¦ and the first to involve substantial numbers of adolescents.β
Adolescents are very much at risk for substance use. The brainβs rewards center has already developed so adolescents become selective about rewards to pursue. They are wired to ββ¦pursue highly stimulating behaviors to garner a large neurological rewardβ¦β This is called risk-taking. However the important pre-frontal cortex where we do decision making will not be fully developed until age 25 in the male brain and 21 in the female brain so unbridled risk-taking can occur.
The biggest risk of all is death, death at an early age. Teens who can no longer find opioids in the family medicine cabinet migrate to the street for heroin or, even more dangerous in terms of sudden death, fentanyl. Those under 35 make up half of visits to emergency rooms for non prescription drug use. Sudden death from opioid misuse is far too common and not enough hospitals or first responders keep Naloxone, a drug that treats opioid overdose, on hand. The opioid crisis has been declared a public health emergency by the Department of Health and Human Services.
Cigarette smoking among adolescents is down but the use of e-cigarettes commonly known as vaping is way up. Vaping paraphernalia is prevalent at schools and in stores in several flavors to entice young people. Advertising to teens is widespread. Parents who try vaping as a means to get off cigarettes do not ban using this at home though they preach against tobacco use.
There are dangers of being near a vaper as well as using it yourself. Secondhand aerosol containing nicotine and carcinogens and toxins comes both from the emissions and the exhalations of the user. Plus these remain on surfaces and dust. Ugh!
Listen up: Nicotine is one of the most addictive substances in the universe whether it comes from a cigarette or a vaping device. Everybody knows carcinogens and toxins are dangerous.
The latest figures are scary: 21 percent of high school students and 5 percent of middle schoolers are vapers.
The good news is that the American Academy of Pediatrics has issued strong recommendations directed toward protecting children. These include regulating and taxing e-cigarettes, banning sales to those under 21, and banning internet sales and advertising to children. The FDA has warned 15 national retailers about selling and promoting e-cigarettes to minors. But until regulations are passed, those who sell these products will no doubt increase advertising and promotion to minors.
Our children are also being threatened by two things their families do not have: First, rampant inequality means families do not have enough money to provide for their children or lift themselves out of poverty. Americaβs children are being damaged and, in some cases, destroyed by poverty. Where is the highest percentage of children in any developed country not able to get out of poverty? The American Dream, my own story, has immigrated to Europe.
Second, the effects of the anti-vaccination movement threatens children all over the world. The anti-vaxxers may not be in it for the money but they flood the internet with false information so that gullible parents do not vaccinate their children. (Facebook does plan to combat misinformation about vaccines by making it harder to find.)
Between 1963 and 2000, measles, one of the most contagious of all childhood diseases, was eliminated from the United States. But unlike smallpox that was eradicated from the entire planet (a triumph of modern science and medicine), measles is still present and killing children in many parts of the world. Unvaccinated children here, even those whose parents plan to vaccinate them, are at increased risk because their community lacks herd immunity. Such immunity means the spread of a communicable disease will be reduced if enough individuals are immune thanks to vaccination.
Unvaccinated children everywhere are at risk of getting preventable childhood diseases that once caused many deaths or disability. With my own eyes I saw children die of complications of measles. I saw iron lungs lined up in the corridors of pediatric wards, I saw children suffer from the pain of mumps or the intensely itchy rash of chicken pox.
When immunizations became nearly universal in our country I thought βHooray, never again!β I assumed vaccinations would forever save all our children from the pain of childhood diseases. Alas, I was wrong. The combination of air travel and lack of herd immunity make a perfect storm. From January 1 through March 7, 2019, 228 cases of confirmed measles in 12 states were reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Despite measles outbreaks across the U.S., 20 states (including our own) now have proposed bills making it easier for parents to opt out of vaccination. I wish I could time travel with a bunch of anti-vaxx parents back to my childhood (I suffered through all of the now preventable diseases) and my residency days to see the children I treated and lost, and their parents.
What can we do? Stay informed about this and all anti-science threats. Vote thoughtfully to keep and fund our government research and epidemiology programs so we get warnings like when a tornado approaches. One grandmother I know refused to let her grandchild visit because his parents had not vaccinated him against the flu. Draconian but it worked.
And finally boycott stores that sell and advertise e-cigarettes to kids.
