Back in March this year, a boy nearly lost his life due to vaping.
Dr Aishah Abas shared the story on her TikTok recently and urged parents to monitor their children to prevent damage from vaping.
Drugs in Vape
In the story the doctor share, one boy was hanging out with his friends one evening when the father heard a fight break out in the neighbourhood.
The father at first ignored it, as it was considered normal for fights to happen as they were living in an apartment.
Then he heard the sound of his own son screaming that he didn’t want to die.
When the father investigated what was happening, he saw half of the son’s body dangling from the building with one of the friends holding him.
The father came to the rescue and brought the son home, washed his face and asked him to pray.
He then asked his son what had actually happened, and the son told him that his friends and he were vaping.
He thought he was trying a harmless new flavour of the vape but then he was thinking strangely and heard a voice telling him to jump.
It was suspected that the vape was laced with drugs, possibly named ‘Magic Mushroom’.
With this drug, even if a urine test was done, the test would not turn positive.
Kids Have Easy Access to Buy Vape
Many people were horrified by the story.
One of the users even commented that their child’s peers were vaping at the age of nine.
Starting in April this year, Malaysia started legalising vaping as the government exempted nicotine liquids and gels as controlled substances.
This allows vapes to be sold on the open market and taxed.
There are also no regulations controlling the sale of nicotine vaping products.
Making them accessible to anyone, including those who are under 18 years old.
Dr Amirul Amzar, a family medicine specialist, also posted on Facebook about an underage vape user.
The teenager said that out of 10 shops he went to to buy vapes, seven of them didn’t even check his ID.
The Dangers of Vaping
Other than the possible fact that your child might become addicted to vaping, there are a bunch of other downsides to vaping.
Cleveland Clinic shared problems that can develop due to vaping:
Someone who exclusively vapes can also start cigarette smoking and expose the chemicals to people around them.
Monitor Your Children
Monitor your children within reason.
Check for any behaviour changes and get to know who their friends are.
If they’re already vaping or just started to, talk to them about the harms of it and help them stop before the addiction sets in.
If they’re already addicted, support them while they recover and don’t diminish them.
The best way for them to recover is when they know they have support.
Vaping is not a safer option than smoking, so don’t just let them continue this behaviour as this affects their health just as greatly.
Let’s keep all our kids safe out there, parents!
Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as medical advice from Motherhood. For any health-related concerns, it is advisable to consult with a qualified healthcare professional or medical practitioner.
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