How Do You Know What Your Child is Vaping?

As a parent, it is concerning to hear the recent news of vaping dangers with children. No doubt there is a lot of controversial information out there, but how would you know what exactly is your child vaping?

Unfortunately, not all vape pens and mods are listed as only nicotine/hookah or marijuana. Most marijuana pods will identify the brand and name of the Marijuana labeled. More and more there are pods that can work with modified vape pens on the market.

For instance, for marijuana, there are three distinct materials you can use: vape juices and oils, dry herbs, and concentrates. Generally, you can’t use one pen for every type without modification. In addition, vape juice and hemp oil are not interchangeable.

How to identify vape "pens" and "mods" (modified e-cigarettes)?

Some vape devices look like regular cigarettes, cigars or pipes, while others resemble USB sticks and other everyday objects like a guitar pick.

Larger vape devices such as tank systems, or “mods,” do not look like other tobacco smoking products. Instead, they can resemble a small cellphone or wand.

Some devices are disposable, others are rechargeable using a USB port of a computer and/or using e-liquid, either by filling the chamber or using a self-contained pod.

 Pods or pre-filled cartridges are the components that contain e-liquid.  Flavored e-liquids come in thousands of flavors, including tropical blend, cotton candy, grape, etc.  Flavored e-liquids may also contain different levels of nicotine, ranging from 2mg/mL to 59mg/mL. One of the more popular vape devices can contain 59mg/mL of nicotine in each pod. Each pod is equal to one pack of cigarettes.

Marijuana can be vaped in both the leaf form or using THC and/or CBD oil. THC is the psychoactive compound in marijuana that creates a sense of being high.

The bottom line, there is no 100% effective way to know what your teen is smoking. One way to identify what the contents are is to look for the labeling on any packaging, pods, pens, mods, etc. There is usually some identification of a brand, substance %, etc. Open communication with your children is key. If you are still wondering if they may be abusing certain drugs, we offer drug testing kits to screen in the privacy of your own home. Feel free to reach out to our customer service team to learn more.