There’s a lot in the news these days about vaping and teens becoming hooked on Juul. In the opioid age, many may be blowing off nicotine addiction, but it is currently a serious issue for people of all ages, especially teens.
Many feel they’re not putting their health at risk by Juuling instead of smoking, but this is sadly not true, and many young people are going to learn this the hard way. And just like withdrawing from other drugs, Juuling can have serious effects on your mental health and wellness if you withdraw without help.
Now the New York Times is taking a hard new look at vaping and Juul addiction by following a nineteen-year-old named Matt Murphy and his Juul addiction.
The Truth About Vaping Addiction
As the New York Times reports, Murphy first saw a Juul for the first time at a high school party in the summer of 2016. He was seventeen when he tried his Juul for the first time, and he loved it the first time he tried it. “It was love at first puff,” he says. The next day he went back to the Juul, and couldn’t stop, to the point where he called his Juul his “11th finger.”
Juul then became Murphy’s addiction for the next two years. He went on vacation with his family early into his Juul use, and he was losing his mind without it. He then spent $100 to take an Uber to a store and get a starter kit so he could take it on the family vacation.
Murphy stayed away from drinking, pot and cigarettes, and like many teens, he thought Juul was harmless. He also liked the fact that it made him a bit of a bad boy in that teachers and parents couldn’t tell he was using it. “The Juul was super, super sneaky and I loved it,” he says.
But then he noticed he was out of breath a lot when playing sports, and he was hitting up his Juul a lot in college as a refuge from stress. Like a lot of people dealing with addiction, eventually, he used Juul to deal with his cravings and anxiety that came from withdrawal. Like a lot of people who smoke marijuana, he kept his Juul nearby when he woke up in the morning so he could have a wake-up taste.
Regretting Getting Hooked on Juul
Before he knew it, Murphy regretted ever starting Juul in the first place and warned his college friends not to do it. Finally, he was confronted by his parents, and that gave him the incentive to get help.
Unbeknownst to many people, withdrawing from Juul has similarities to withdrawing from other drugs. One time Murphy stopped and he “felt strong for five minutes. And then I felt really weak. I only realized the magnitude of my addiction when I stopped.”
After three weeks, Murphy felt like he was getting back to normal. He even marked the day he quit, like many who get sober. He still gets the urge to Juul, but then he thinks about the terrible times he had when he was addicted as well as the struggle of quitting.
Friends reach out to Murphy who is going through similar situations with Juuling, and he lets them know that he understands what they’re experiencing and that it does get better when they can finally quit.
