Let’s Clear the Air

My favourite weekend activity used to be strolling with my family in a nearby shopping district. The streets were lined with exquisite bakeries of wonderful flavours. The freshly baked goods outpoured their addictive aroma onto the streets making my mouth water. There were vanilla cakes, strawberry shortbread and even chocolate chip cookies. It was joyous to see giggling children attempting to give piggybacks to their younger sibling who is clearly too heavy for them.

Not anymore. Nowadays, my favourite stores are gone. Instead, when I walk around the shopping centres, cigarette stores are now decorated like Charlie’s Chocolate Factory. There are rows of mysterious bottles which come in enticing colours.

Deceived by the pretty packaging, young people queue outside for this deadly product. Not much older than me, they proceed to vape and blow colourful smoke into the air. Do they know their tiny lungs are rotting away with toxins at the same time? I can’t smell the baked goods anymore, only the artificial fruity flavours of the vapes.

It's not just the streets. I have classmates who see vaping as a harmless “trend” to fit in. They believe that this makes them look cool. They take to social media, expressing pride at how they created fancy new shapes. One in six aged 14 to 17, and one in four people aged 18 - 24 have vaped. The effects of vaping for six months has the equivalent harm on a user who has been smoking for five years. We must not conform to these dangerous habits. It’s time to clear the air.