Nicotine
Choose a Future Without
See how much you can save when quitting nicotine
Using a vape every week in Summit County costs around $187 a month, which adds up to $1,100 in just six months.
This unexpected cost can quickly add up, leaving less money for other things you might need or want.
When you quit vaping, your health, life, and wallet all become richer.
Vaping
9 out of 10 students at SHS agree that abstaining from daily use of vapor products reduces bodily harm. Here's why...
Impacting your respiratory system
Vaping involves heating up the metal of the vaporizer and the materials and chemicals in the vape liquid.
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These juices can cause "Popcorn Lung" (bronchiolitis obliterans). This condition results from irreversible damage to the lungs' airways, making breathing difficult. This is especially true because it can cause symptoms such as coughing, wheezing, chest pain, and shortness of breath.
In addition, smoking and vaping can ruin the tiny hairs (cilia) in your airway that keep dirt and mucus out of your lungs. This leads to the development of a “smoker’s cough”.
Vaping also puts you at higher risk of pneumonia, a collapsed lung (pneumothorax), and lung cancer.
Your brain keeps developing until about age 25. Nicotine can mess with the parts that control focus, learning, and decision-making.
Impacting your brain development
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Some vapes labeled “nicotine-free” still contain chemicals that can harm your brain and body.
Nicotine changes how your brain’s reward system works, making dependence happen faster and quitting feel harder.
Impacting your mental health
Vaping can impact your mental health and:
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Increase your risk of depression and anxiety
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Worsen depression and anxiety
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Increase levels of ADHD
Because the brain is still developing through 25 years of age, nicotine exposure can interfere with attention, learning, impulse control, and emotional regulation, which may increase your stress levels and make it harder to manage emotions day to day.
Impacting your daily life
Vaping doesn’t just affect the brain—it affects the entire body.
Nicotine constricts blood vessels and reduces oxygen in the bloodstream, which can lower stamina, increase fatigue, and raise the risk of injury during physical activity.
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Over time, vaping can also disrupt sleep, weaken the immune system, and damage blood vessels, making it harder for your body to recover, perform well, and stay healthy.
When you vape around other people, and even pets, you are breathing out tiny particles and chemicals that other people can breathe in too.
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This exposure has been linked with increased risk of breathing symptoms like shortness of breath, bronchitis-like symptoms, and asthma flare-ups in studies of young people and adults.
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It sticks around. Nicotine and other residues can settle on clothes, furniture, and surfaces where kids often touch and breathe.
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Your pets can also be impacted because they breathe faster and have smaller lungs. Animals can breathe in the chemicals the same way you do. Vape aerosol is oil based which can also stick to your pet’s fur.
Secondhand exposure can impact our community, which is why, by law, vaping is prohibited in restaurants, buses, recreation centers, and other indoor, public spaces.
Second Hand Exposure
Vaping impacts my lungs and the oils in the aerosol get stuck to my fur!
Help Keep Summit County Beautiful
Don’t throw your vapes in the trash. It is a hazardous waste that leads to:
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More plastic waste in landfills
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Increased tech waste from vape parts, like lithium batteries
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Introducing toxic chemicals and polluting our environment
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Increased risk of landfill fires
Visit the disposal locations below to safely dispose of your vapes:
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Silverthorne Town Hall
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Dillon Town Hall
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Elevated Community Health
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Copper Mountain - EDGE Building
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Breckenridge Recreation Center
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Breckenridge Recycling Center
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​Frisco Recycling Center
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Frisco Transit Center
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Frisco Smok N' Bra
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Silverthorne Transit Center
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Colorado Mountain College: Dillon Campus
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Colorado Mountain College: Breckenridge Campus
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Mile High Behavioral Health
Nicotine Pouches
Nicotine pouches are small, disposable pouches containing synthetic nicotine, derived from the tobacco plant, sweeteners, flavorings, and chemicals.
They are placed between the lip (or cheek) and gums, allowing nicotine to be absorbed directly into the bloodstream through the mouth's mucous membranes. This placement can cause mouth sores, gingivitis, gum recession, inflammation, and increased susceptibility to infections.
The most popular brand of nicotine pouches right now is ZYNS. They are mostly sold with a nicotine content of either 3mg or 6mg per pouch, and the average user consumes 8-12 pouches per day.
These pouches can contain higher-concentrated nicotine, making them highly addictive. The addictive qualities can impact attention span, learning capabilities, and memory
STILL
NICOTINE
STILL HARMFUL
6
MG
8-12 6mg pouches =
3 packs of cigarettes
STILL
NICOTINE
STILL HARMFUL
6
MG
Pouches can cause mouth sores and gum recession
Open Me!
Quit Tips
Find your reason
Getting motivated to quit vaping is hard. Some find that having a powerful reason or goal is helpful!
It could be to:
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Improve your health through lung function
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Lower your risk of heart disease.
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Save money
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Prevent yourself from future substance use and addictions
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Protect your younger siblings and friends from wanting to try it
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Protect your pets from secondhand exposure
Combatting Triggers and Cravings
Distract yourself to keep your mind occupied and the triggers at bay. For example, you can go snowboarding or skiing, read a fun book, play video games with friends, or even try a new craft.
Limit social media to help you avoid seeing people vaping online.​
​Get plenty of rest, eat balanced meals, and take time out of your day to exercise.
Handling Withdrawals
When you go without vaping, the nicotine level in your bloodstream drops, which may cause unpleasant feelings, physical symptoms, and strong urges to vape.
Build a toolkit to combat them. Some things to include are: ​
Exercise​
Find a healthy distraction​
Lean on your support system of friends and families​
Celebrate your accomplishment of choosing to quit
Resources
Confidential support to quit vaping, smoking, and other nicotine products. You can get easy-to-follow tips, build your own quit plan, and connect with friendly quit coaches by text, phone, or online chat.
Stress, mood, and mental health can play a big role in turning to nicotine use. The team at Building Hope can help connect you with therapists, support groups, events, and mental health resources, so you can find the right support for anxiety, depression, or other challenges without relying on nicotine.
Elevated Community Health can help you with quitting vaping or any other number of mental and physical health concerns you might be having. And they are located right in your school.
A free support program with personalized quit tools, daily tips, and support from experts and others who are quitting. You can use the program’s text messages and online resources to understand your triggers, cope with cravings, and build new habits.
A free app with tools to track how long you’ve been vape-free, monitor your progress, stay motivated, and connect with others on the same journey. The app celebrates milestones, shows how much money you’ve saved, and supports you without judgment as you work toward quitting vaping for real.
Showing the real effects of vaping and nicotine on your body, brain, mental health, and future. It uses real facts and relatable stories to help you see past the marketing and make informed choices for yourself.
For teens who want help quitting vaping or smoking. It offers easy-to-use tools like quit plans, text support, and apps that help you deal with cravings, manage stress, and stay motivated. Just real support to help you take control and quit on your own terms.
Giving you real facts about vaping, nicotine, and tobacco to help young people make informed choices. It shares honest, science-based information, exposes industry marketing tactics, and supports youth in rejecting or quitting nicotine.
