E-cigarette Use Continuing to Rise in Teens

The recent surge in e-cigarette use among youth, which has been fueled by new types of e-cigarettes that have recently entered the market, is a cause for great concern. We must take action now to protect the health of our nation’s young people."
                                            - Surgeon General of the United States Public Health Service, Jerome Adams, 2018

The rise in e-cigarette use stems from its introduction to the U.S. market in 2007. It was first marketed as an alternative to cigarettes, and it soon increased in popularity within the United States. However, growing concerns began to due to the large increase in the number of adolescent users of e-cigarettes. In 2011 to 2013, the number of teenagers who only used e-cigarettes increased by three times, from 79,000 to over 263,000 teenagers. These trends proved to only continue in the future among people of all ages, mainly adolescents. Data on a national scale showed that the number of teenagers who used e-cigarettes in the past 30 days increased by over 1.5 million, from 2,000,000 to 3,500,000, during the years of 2017 and 2018. In 2018, vaping within a month before the survey has increased among senior high school students to 37% from the original percentage, 28%, in 2017.

Increase in the number of adolescent users of e-cigarettes from 2011 to 2018

   There are also varying degrees of students who vape within different economic classes. Research has shown that double the number of "ever-users" were reported in an advantaged school, respondents aged 16-17. Those within the disadvantaged school, however, displayed 10 times the likelihood to be in contact with someone within their household who vapes. Disadvantaged students were more than 5 times as likely to have someone who smoked tobacco in their home, and witness someone from another home do so as well. These results display that vaping and smoking tobacco are more prevalent within a more disadvantaged household. This in turn can lead to addiction to either products for the young child in the future, only furthering the number of adolescents who partake in vaping. 
      Additionally, people who have cardiovascular diseases, mental diseases, cancer, and asthma have a higher chance of using vaping products compared to those without diseases. Over 10% of people with chronic pulmonary disease have used or continue to e-cigarettes as well. These statistics have caused increased concern about the safety of e-cigarettes as more and more people, especially youth, are using them.

Prevalence of e-cigarette use within varying households based on socioeconomic background

References

Arnold, C. (2014). Vaping and health: What do we know about e- cigarettes? Environmental Health Perspectives, 122(9) https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.122-A244

Spindel, E. R., & McEvoy, C. T. (2016). The role of nicotine in the effects of maternal smoking during pregnancy on lung development and childhood respiratory disease. Implications for dangers of e-cigarettes. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 193(5), 484-494. https://doi.org/10.1164/rccm.201510-2013PP

Splete, H. (2019, January 1). Vaping soars among American teens in 2018 survey. Family Practice News, 49(1), 3. Retrieved from Academic OneFile database.

Kirkcaldy, A., Fairbrother, H., Weiner, K., & Curtis, P. (2019). Young people's perspectives of e-cigarette use in the home. Health & Place, 57, 157-164. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2019.04.005