The vaping trend sweeping the nation has ensnared many teens, hooking a new generation on Big Tobacco’s products. Here are some facts and statistics on vaping & e-cigarette use among children & teens:
-
In 2017, 17% of 12th graders reported vaping in the prior 30 days, along with 13% of 10th graders and 7% of 8th graders. (McGinty, 2017)
-
Another 2017 survey found 18.5% of 8th graders had vaped at least once, up from 17.5% the previous year. That compares to 9.4% who had ever smoked cigarettes. (Chaker, 4-3-2018) Among 10th graders the rates were 30.9% for vaping and 15.9% for smoking, and among 12th graders, it’s 35.8% for vaping and 26.6% for cigarettes.
-
The Monitoring the Future study, which tracks vaping and e-cigarette use separately, found that in 2016, 6% of 8th graders, 11% of 10th graders, and 13% of 12th graders were vaping. The number of kids using e-cigarette devices was 6%, 10%, and 12% respectively. They also noted that these were significant declines (of at least several percentage points) from just a year earlier. (Johnston et al., 2017) However, I’m suspicious of such large declines in such a short period, especially given the fact that teachers are tending to notice them becoming a bigger problem, not a smaller one. It’s likely this decline is a result of more kids underreporting such use in light of greater scrutiny by adults.
-
Only 5-10% of teens were using e-cigarettes to help them quit regular use (Johnston et al., 2017), meaning that the overwhelming majority of vaping teens are picking up a new habit.