In a move that might send a powerful precedent to the world of e-cigarettes and vaping, the Iowa House voted 76-22 banning the sale of e-cigarettes to minors. One of the key points seeks to prevent vaping or e-cigarette inhaling from becoming an acceptable activity for minors. One can only imagine school children inhaling e-cigarettes inside their school buses as other children look on. Although there’s no research that proves that e-cigarettes can cause cancer, the presence of nicotine is a crucial issue as it is habit forming and addictive. As a father, I know fully well the bane of children developing bad habits.
Develop Good Habits
In my own personal experience, children develop habits as soon as they can distinguish between themselves and other people. My one and a half year old daughter for instance constantly tries to control her mom by crying. My four year old son has been bedazzled by computer games ever since he discovered that this machine can somewhat magically produce dazzling colors and amusing sounds. It has reached the point where I even have to convince him using hard core negotiation skills to get off my chair so that I could use my computer.
Now even though e-cigarettes has not been proven to cause serious illnesses, the fact that nicotine is present or is an option introduces the risk that the child could be addicted. While some may argue that sugar is just as addictive and even more dangerous health wise, it is not easily seen or observed that the substance being consumed has dangerous amounts of sugar. E-cigarette inhalation however is very overt as the child can be easily seen putting a device in his mouth and emitting vapor that looks like smoke afterwards.
As a dad, I’d like my children to develop good habits such as reading books and thinking out of the box. To do this, I took away the easiest distraction which is the television set. As a result, they only watch shows when it’s time to watch shows. Moreover, they mostly watch with us.
A Good Alternative for Adult Smokers
On the other hand, vaping is a very good alternative for discerning adults who have developed an addiction to nicotine. I can say from my personal experience that the right e-cigarette brand can lead you back to the way of good health and well-being. It’s a matter of developing a sense of independence, being with the right people and exchanging bad habits for good ones.
Laws can only go so far in regulating and controlling human behavior. We as a species have proven to be persistent and rebellious in our ways ever since written history. As individuals, the battle is harder. With acceptance comes commitment and that comes with a consistent frame of mind focused on the goal.
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