Positive Trend: U.S. Report Indicates Decrease in Vaping Among High School Students

File: Monday, June 26, 2023, finds a variety of flavored disposable e-cigarettes produced by EB Design, formerly known as Elf Bar, on display at a Pinecrest, Florida, store. Fewer high school kids are vaping, according to a report that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued on Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023. In a poll performed the previous year, 14% of high school students reported using electronic cigarettes; this year, the percentage dropped to about 10%. Additionally, fewer high school students were cigar and cigarette smokers. Students in middle schools continued to use e-cigarettes at roughly the same rate as the previous year. (Rebecca Blackwell, File/AP Photo) REBECCA BLACKWELL

The administration said on Thursday that fewer high school students are vaping this year.

10% of high school students responded in a study that they had used electronic cigarettes in the month prior, compared to 14% the year before.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention research states that among high school students, the use of any tobacco product—including cigarettes and cigars—also decreased.

Kenneth Michael Cummings, a researcher from the University of South Carolina who was not involved in the CDC study, called the announcement “a lot of good news.”

Approximately 5% of middle school students reported using e-cigarettes. That was essentially unchanged from the survey conducted last year.

More than 22,000 students participated in this year’s study; they completed an online form in the spring. The yearly study is thought to be the agency’s most accurate indicator of trends in teenage smoking.

Why the decline in high school students? Health experts think a variety of initiatives, such as price increases and restrictions on sales to children, may be beneficial.

A few e-cigarettes with tobacco flavors have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration with the goal of assisting adult smokers in cutting back. Nationwide, the age limit for sales is 21.

Other important conclusions from the report:

• Approximately 25% of students who use e-cigarettes reportedly reported using them daily.
• Approximately 10% of middle and high school pupils reported using tobacco products recently. That equals 2.8 million children in the United States.
• Among tobacco products, e-cigarettes were the most often used type, and youth preferred disposable models.
• Fruit and candy tastes were the most popular among nearly 90% of students who vape.

However, the FDA is still having difficulty controlling the vast vaping market, which now boasts hundreds of brands offering tastes like watermelon and gummy bear. A flood of low-cost, disposable vape pens that are imported from China—which the FDA regards as illegal—has been the main driver behind the expanding range of flavored vapes.

One concerning yet perplexing conclusion from the analysis was emphasized by the CDC. While the percentage of high school students who reported using at least one tobacco product in the previous month decreased, there was a slight increase in the middle school student population. According to Kurt Ribisl, a researcher at the University of North Carolina, they often move simultaneously. He and Cummings advised against drawing undue conclusions from the discovery, stating that it may take a year.

What are the health impacts of vaping?

Adult smokers seeking to give up have been sold on vaping as a less dangerous option. However, there are hazards associated with it. Children who use vaping devices heavily may not realize how hard it is to stop, which might reverse decades of progress made against nicotine dependency and increase the possibility that they will use cigarettes in the future.

Dr. Stephen Kantrow, a pulmonologist and the head of the LSU Health New Orleans pulmonary critical care fellowship program, described them as “incredibly addictive.” “Nicotine was on its way out, but parents can’t detect it because it’s being delivered right back by vapes.”

Nicotine Addiction

Contrary to combustible cigarettes, which burn tobacco leaves and release combustion products and toxins into the air, vaping has various hazards. The American Heart Association lists nicotine addiction as one of the most prominent, as it increases the risk of high blood pressure and artery constriction.

According to the Louisiana Youth Tobacco Survey, 58% of adolescents who vape use flavored vapes, which usually have greater nicotine contents.

It is quite likely that someone who becomes hooked on nicotine will start smoking cigarettes.

Lack of regulation

Businesses immediately changed course as new laws attempted to restrict children’s access to e-cigarettes. There was a loophole that permitted flavors in disposable items when the Trump government outlawed flavored products in vaping devices.

“The companies are so creative that they can just rename products, which makes it very difficult for the FDA to regulate,” Kantrow added. “Whack-a-mole is the game.”

However, there is a lack of regulation, which contributes to the ignorance of the health impacts. The body’s immune response to infections has been demonstrated to be affected by hot flavored chemical exposure in animal models.

The effects of cigarettes on one’s health did not become apparent for over twenty years. Proponents are concerned about the long-term effects of a substance that young children get addicted to.

Lung injuries

There was a lung injury pandemic among e-cigarette users in 2019 and 2020. E-cigarette or vaping use-associated lung injury, or EVALI, is a disorder that was finally connected to off-the-shelf devices that contained vitamin E or THC, the psychoactive component of marijuana. According to Kantrow, vapers still suffer from serious lung ailments, even if the problem is no longer seen as an epidemic. Doctors don’t know how often these injuries occur or who is most likely to have them because there isn’t a centralized method for reporting them.