U.S. Vaping by adolescents has dropped dramatically this year, especially among middle schoolchildren, according to a federal report released Wednesday.
Experts believe some children may be frightened by the outbreak of steam-related illnesses and deaths last year, but they believe other factors, including age limits and restrictions on taste, have declined.
In a national survey, only 20 percent of high school students and 5 percent of middle school students said they use the latest electronic cigarettes and other vaping products. A similar survey last year showed a big drop, with about 28 percent of high school students and 11 percent of middle school students working recently.
The survey shows that the number of school children has dropped from ape..4 million to ape.6 million in a year to 1.8 million in a year, officials said.
Despite a decline in adolescent consumption, the report shows a large surge in the use of disposable e-cigarettes. The Food and Drug Administration banned the flavors of small vaping devices such as the Jules earlier this year and others that are primarily used by minors. The policy does not apply to disposable e-cigarettes, which may still have a sweet, sweet-like taste.
“As long as any flavored e-cigarette is left on the market, children will get their hands on it and we will not solve this crisis,” Matt Myers of the Tobacco Free Kids campaign said in a statement.
A national survey of schools is conducted each year by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and includes about 20,000 middle and high school students. He asks students if they have used any vaping or traditional tobacco products in the past month. The survey was shortened this year due to the closure of schools due to the coronavirus epidemic.
Federal health officials believe that measures such as public health media campaigns, price increases and sales restrictions deserve credit for reducing steam. Now the age limit for sale is 21.
But they also acknowledge that this may have been an outbreak. CDC’s Brian King said sales began to decline in August – when coverage of national media coverage intensified.
“It’s possible that the use of some intense awareness could be reduced,” King said.
By the time of the outbreak earlier this year, more than 2,800 diseases and 68 deaths had been reported. Most of those who fell ill said they had inhaled solutions containing THC, which produces high levels of marijuana. CDC officials gradually focused their investigation on black market THC cartridges and on a chemical compound called vitamin E acetate that was added to illicit THC vaping liquids.
Kenneth Werner, a professor at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, said the drop in youth waping was bigger than expected.
Tobacco control expert Warner said this looks like a very significant reduction in a single year and is very encouraging.
Among the possible factors, Verner noted the general negative publicity surrounding VPing. Additionally, Jules hypersensitively removed all of its vapor flavors except menthol and tobacco and proceeded with federal action.
Despite the increase in steam – about 6% – Warner and other researchers have found a recent decline in the all-time low of young smokers. He said it is important to see if teenage smoking starts to grow again as less teens.
The new figures were released the same day that all U.S. Vaping manufacturers faced long-delayed deadlines for submitting their products for FDA review. In general, this means that ving ping companies must show that their products help smokers reduce or quit using cigarettes and other tobacco products.
E-cigarettes were introduced in the U.S. more than a decade ago. Appeared in and gained popularity with minimal federal regulation.
