Introduction to Teen Vaping
From 2017 to 2018, the number of middle school students trying vaping nicotine has soared in the USA. According to a survey, 1 in 5 high school seniors was vaping nicotine in 2018. This is disturbing news about teen vaping.
In fact, it was the biggest one-year increase in substance abuse among young people in the 44 years according to the survey of the Monitoring the Future.
“It is very worrying,” said Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, which funded the survey. “We are very concerned about the increase in e-cigarettes.”
The proportion of high school students who said they vaped nicotine in the last month rose to 20.9 percent in 2018. Up nearly 10 percentage points from 11 percent in 2017, according to the survey.
The Research
The researchers said the increase was twice the previous record for a year-over-year increase in vaping by 12th graders.
According to the findings, younger kids are increasingly vaping as well, which was published online by the New England Journal of Medicine.
Among 10th graders, vaping nicotine rates are climbing at a record rate — doubling from 8 percent to 16 percent. That is the largest percentage increase ever recorded by the survey for vaping in the past 30 days.
The survey has been underway since 1975. For the survey, the combined jumps in using e-cigs by 10th and 12th graders was a record-setter.
The percentage of 8th graders who vaped in the past 30 days also rose to 6.1 percent from 3.5 percent.
Statistics
Based on a representative sampling of 13,850 high school students across the country. The increases translate to about 1.3 million more adolescents vaping in 2018, the researchers said.
“Current policies and procedures to prevent teenagers from using c-cigarettes are clearly not working,” said Richard Miech of the University of Michigan, who led the study. “Given the rapid growth of the vaping industry, it is likely that new additional, vaping-specific strategies will be needed in the coming years to keep vaping devices out of the hands of young people.”
Vaping involves the usage of e-cigarettes. Unlike traditional cigarettes, which burn tobacco. E-cigarettes heat up a fluid containing nicotine, producing a vapor laced with the potent drug. Although many people believe such devices are much safer than traditional tobacco cigarettes, they are far from harmless.
The high levels of nicotine in the vapor produced by e-cigarettes raise concerns about the effects on young people’s sensitive, developing brains.
What the survey says
The findings of the National Youth Tobacco Survey, which also found a significant increase in e-cigarettes use. Those findings prompted the Food and Drug Administration to announce plans to restrict the sale of flavored e-cigarettes, which appeal to children.
Critics have been urging the Food and Drug Administration to take tougher action against e-cigarettes.
Another troubling finding of the new survey is that a growing number of teenagers say they are inhaling “just flavors” when they vape. Raising concerns that many of them are unaware that they are inhaling high levels of nicotine.
Among 12th graders, the percent of students who said they only vaped flavoring in the past year raised to 25.7% in 2018 from 20.6% in 2017. The most popular electronic cigarettes have no nicotine-free options.
Ryan
Ryan is a writer, editor and content creator who spends most of his time bringing the interesting, entertaining, original and well-written articles to vapers. He believes that vaping is not only a healthier alternative to smoking, but also a great experience of life.
