Teenagers have followed fads for many decades.

When I was a teenager, the fads were to either have a Beatles haircut and worship their music or to embrace Surfer hairstyles and music. Of the nearly 700 students in my high school graduating class, it seemed that at least 75%-80% were either a Beatle or Surfer. I was never part of the in crowd as I was a cowboy, a small socially shunned group of students. I was riding saddle broncs and bulls, dressing in western clothes including boots and listening to country-western music (not like the current garbage they call country-western). The fads got so bad that many schools banned both Beatle and Surfer hairstyles.

Before my teen years, the fads involved the original rock-n-roll music (I’m talking 1950s and early 1960s rock-n-roll).

Most of you can probably recall what fads were popular when you were a teenager and/or when your kids were/are teenagers.

Listening to a certain type of music is usually not that harmful type of fad, unless it involves head banging and other rough physical violence or excess head shaking.

When e-cigarettes hit the market, they quickly became a fad among many teenagers, as well as college students and millennials. E-cigarettes were thought to be a healthier choice than actually smoking cigarettes, so many parents thought the e-cigarettes were a better choice for their teens and that it wouldn’t harm them.

There is still a lot of controversy as to how safe e-cigarettes are, which some experts say that people still inhale harmful compounds and that more tend to inhale more or e-smoke more, which can increase the dangers that e-cigarettes per purported to present.

Just like real cigarettes, e-cigarettes can be used to smoke more than tobacco products and that is raising the alarm with many health experts.

According to Fox News:

“A school-based survey shows nearly 1 in 11 U.S. students have used marijuana in electronic cigarettes, heightening concern about the new popularity of vaping among teens.”

“E-cigarettes typically contain nicotine, but results published Monday mean 2.1 million middle and high school students have used them to get high.”

‘The devices are generally considered a less dangerous alternative to regular cigarettes, despite little research on their long-term effects including whether they help smokers quit.”

“The rise in teenagers using them has alarmed health officials. Last week, the Food and Drug Administration gave the five largest e-cigarette makers 60 days to produce plans to stop underage use of their products.”

With more states legalizing the medicinal and recreational use of marijuana (cannabis), why should teen use of marijuana in e-cigarettes pose a health danger?

Katrina Trivers of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the lead author on the study explained:

“[The number is worrying] because cannabis use among youth can adversely affect learning and memory and may impair later academic achievement and education.”

University of Michigan researcher Richard Miech added:

“The health risks of vaping reside not only in the vaping devices, but in the social environment that comes with it. [Kids who vape are more likely to become known as drug users and make friends with drug users, that] hanging out with drug users is a substantial risk factor for future drug use.”

From high school to today, I’ve known many people who smoked marijuana and a large percentage of them eventually moved from marijuana to other stronger and more addictive drugs. I know one person who was a heavy drug user in his younger days and although he’s been clean for a number of years, that drug use still effects his mind and moods.

If you have a teen who is using e-cigarettes, you as a parent need to step in the stop it before it’s too late. Remember, there has not been enough time for any studies on the long-term use of e-cigarettes, especially if they are using them to vape pot.