Vaping is not a safe alternative to smoking.

Georgia is one of 34 states receiving part of $438.5 million from a lawsuit settlement with Juul Labs.

Juul marketed its vape products to young people despite the fact e-cigarettes are illegal and unhealthy for young people.

Attorney General Chris Carr said, “Underage vaping has reached epidemic proportions and our office is committed to protecting Georgia’s youth from products that could be harmful to their health. That includes holding accountable those that unlawfully try to sell dangerous and addictive e-cigarettes to minors in our state.”

Packaging of the products in the past did not clearly disclose nicotine content and sometimes both teen and parents mistakenly think vaping products are either nicotine free or have such low amounts of nicotine that they are not harmful.

Juul must curb its marketing and sales to youths. Juul, however, is not the only offender. A survey released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates e-cigarettes are the most commonly used tobacco product among young people.

Parents should not just assume their children are not vaping. The 2021 student survey shows one out of every 35 middle school students and one of every nine high school students reported they had used electronic cigarettes in the past 30 days.

Most vapes contain nicotine — despite the packaging and marketing. The CDC has said one of its surveys found 99% of the e-cigarettes analyzed in the sampling contained nicotine. Some vape liquids marketed as containing 0% nicotine tested positive for nicotine, the CDC said.

According to the CDC, here are some of the dangers to young people:

— Using nicotine in adolescence can harm the parts of the brain that control attention, learning, mood and impulse control.

— Each time a new memory is created or a new skill is learned, stronger connections — or synapses — are built between brain cells. Young people’s brains build synapses faster than adult brains. Nicotine changes the way these synapses are formed.

— Using nicotine in adolescence may also increase risk for future addiction to other drugs.

— Some of the ingredients in e-cigarette aerosol could also be harmful to the lungs in the long term. For example, some e-cigarette flavorings may be safe to eat but not to inhale because the gut can process more substances than the lungs.

— Defective e-cigarette batteries have caused some fires and explosions, a few of which have resulted in serious injuries.

— Children and adults have been poisoned by swallowing, breathing or absorbing e-cigarette liquid through their skin or eyes. Nationally, approximately 50% of calls to poison control centers for e-cigarettes are for kids 5 years of age or younger.

We are glad to see the settlement with Juul that should benefit families which have suffered as the result if its marketing practices but the money does not fix the problem.

Vaping is ubiquitous with teens — and sometimes their parents — mistakenly thinking it is harmless. It is not.

We encourage our younger readers and their parents to consider the long-term harmful effects and just say no to teen vaping.