The Teen Brain & Substances
What part of the brain helps you make decisions and control impulses?
Prefrontal cortex
20
Vaping can damage this organ, making it harder to breathe during sports or exercise.
Lungs
This happens when people try to influence your choices or behavior
Peer Pressure
What are marketing strategies that vape companies do to target young people?
Bright colors/candy flavors/cute packaging
What happens to the brain’s development when teens use drugs or alcohol?
It slows or interrupts healthy brain growth
an aerosol
This body system helps fight illness and can be weakened by vaping.
What is the first step when using refusal skills?
The first step when using refusal skills is to clearly say “no” with confidence — using firm body language and tone to show you mean it.
Seeing friends, celebrities, or influencers vape online can create this false idea that “everyone is doing it.”
Social Norms/Peer Pressure
What kind of drug speeds up the body and brain?
A stimulant
A highly addictive drug found in tobacco and vapes
Nicotine
This problem can happen because nicotine changes how the brain works.
Addiction
Seeing influencers promote vaping online is an example of this type of pressure.
Media or Social Media Influence
What does “responsible decision-making” mean?
Thinking about long-term effects before you act
Which chemical in marijuana affects memory and motivation?
THC
What do vaping companies do to attract teens and make vaping seem harmless?
add flavors and bright packaging
To need a drug/substance to function "normally" is what phase of the addiction process.
Dependance
Walking away from a risky situation is an example of this refusal strategy
Avoiding the situation
Give one example of a healthy way to handle stress.
Exercise, music, journaling, talking to someone
Explain one reason why the teenage brain is more likely to become addicted than an adult brain.
The brain’s reward and control centers are still developing, making habits form more easily
This chemical flavoring has been linked to serious lung disease and is sometimes called “popcorn lung.”
Diacyl
Teens who vape are more likely to develop this long‑term lung disease later in life.
COPD (Chronic Lung Disease)
Offering a different idea instead of giving in to pressure is which refusal skill
Suggesting an alternative
When a student confidently says “no,” gives a reason, and walks away after being pressured by friends or social media to vape, they are using this.
Refusal Skill