Juul use more than doubles in teens, young adults
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The percentage of teens and young adults who reported ever using Juul e-cigarette device more than doubled from 2018 to 2019 — suggesting a need for regulations, according to a study published in JAMA Pediatrics.
“We need to talk to parents about talking to their kids about this behavior,” Donna M. Vallone, PhD, MPH, chief researcher officer at the Truth Initiative Schroeder Institute, told Healio. “Early detection of what we call ‘experimentation’ can help lead to reductions in progression to established behavior.”
Vallone and colleagues examined trends in e-cigarette, Juul and combustible tobacco product use among 14,379 adolescents and young adults aged 15 to 34 years via the Truth Longitudinal Cohort. They also analyzed harm perceptions, sensation-seeking behavior, household smoking status, friends’ e-cigarette use and demographic information.
Between 2018 and 2019, the percentage of participants who reported ever using a Juul device increased from 6% to 13.5% (P = .001), according to the researchers. The percentage of current users increased from 3.3% to 6.1% (P = .001).
“JUUL Labs understands the urgent need to continue resetting the vapor category and earn trust by working cooperatively with regulators, attorneys general, public health officials and other stakeholders to combat underage use and help adult smokers transition away from combustible cigarettes,” Juul spokesperson Kevin Harris told Healio. “Our customer base is the world’s 1 billion adult smokers and we do not intend to attract underage users.”
Vallone stressed that although the short-term and long-term effects of e-cigarettes are still unclear due to a lack of product regulation, health care providers should speak with patients regarding vaping.
“It's very, very important for providers to take the opportunity to correctly inform young people and their parents of the dangers associated with vaping,” Vallone said.
As of Jan. 21, the CDC reported more than 2,700 hospitalizations due to lung injury associated with e-cigarettes in 50 states. Vallone said state and local authorities can play an important role in controlling the uptick in vaping among youth.
“I certainly can only hope that we start to see decline,” Vallone said. “There is a fair amount of evidence that we will see another significant increase before we see a decline, and the reason I say that is because we now are relying on states and localities to put in place appropriate legislative restrictions to help reduce the youth epidemic. And that will take time.” – by Eamon Dreisbach
References:
CDC. Outbreak of lung injury associated with the use of e-cigarette, or vaping, products. https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/basic_information/e-cigarettes/severe-lung-disease.html#latest-outbreak-information. Accessed Feb. 4, 2020.
Vallone DM, et al. JAMA Pediatr. 2020;doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2019.5436.
Disclosures: Harris is employed by Juul. Vallone reports being an employee of the Truth Initiative, which funded this study. The other authors report no relevant financial disclosures.