While e-cigarette companies advertise their products as a solution to help people quit smoking, the effects of e-cigarettes on minors could be detrimental. The nicotine in e-cigarettes can impact brain development in teens, said Yale Tobacco Center for Regulatory Science co-PI Suchitra Krishnan-Sarin.

“We have a lot of evidence showing that the adolescent brain is extremely sensitive to the effects of nicotine,” Krishnan-Sarin said. “Studies have shown us that nicotine can interfere with memory and attention processing.”

CHS nurse Dorothy Condon said vaping is not worthwhile for anyone — especially teens.

“We don’t really have any research on vaping because it’s new,” Condon said. “Years from now, we could have lots of different forms of cancer from the scented and flavored vaping materials that the kids are using that could cause cancers that we haven’t seen yet.”

According to Truth Initiative, most convenience outlets like gas stations, pharmacies and tobacco shops carry e-cigarettes. According to the New Jersey Department of Health, the sale of e-cigarettes to anyone under the age of 21 is illegal in New Jersey.

However, an anonymous CHS student believes that, from a legal standpoint, nothing can be done to prevent teens from utilizing e-cigarettes.

“Making it illegal doesn’t really do much from my perspective,” the student said. “If people know the consequences and still want to destroy their own bodies, let them.”

Despite the age restriction, many teens still access these products by skipping the trip to the store altogether. According to Healthy Children, minors can order vape products online because many of these websites do not check for proof of age; other students purchase e-cigarettes from their classmates.

Sophomore Hannah Arbeitel of Marlboro said the accessibility of e-cigarettes makes vaping easier.

“Honestly if I wanted to, I could buy a vape from someone at school tomorrow,” Arbeitel said.