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CDC: Flavored e-cigarette use rises among children, teens
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Flavored e-cigarette use among high school and middle school students is rising, according to data published in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Tobacco, nicotine and e-cigarette use among youth was deemed a “public health crisis” by an FDA official earlier this year.
Specific findings regarding current (past 30-day) use of tobacco products among students in grades 6 through 12 include:
- Use of flavored e-cigarettes increased among high school students during 2014 to 2018.
- Use of flavored e-cigarettes among middle school students increased from 2015 to 2018, after decreasing from 2014 to 2015.
- Use of flavored hookah tobacco decreased among middle and high school students from 2014 to 2018.
- Use of menthol cigarettes, pipe tobacco, cigars and flavored smokeless tobacco decreased among high school students during 2014 to 2018.
The data were gathered before more than 800 lung injuries and 12 deaths tied to vaping were reported.
Ordinances that restrict or ban the sale of e-cigarettes, such as those in San Francisco, “could help reduce use of flavored tobacco products by youth,” Karen Cullen, PhD, of the Center for Tobacco Products at the FDA, and colleagues wrote in MMWR.
Brian King, MPH, PhD, deputy director for research translation at CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health, previously said during a conference call that health care professionals who work with youth should ask young patients about e-cigarette use when they screen for tobacco product use.
“They must also ask about the diversity of tobacco products that are out there and use current terminology like Juul or vape pad, since not all youth recognize that these are e-cigarettes. Clinicians must also warn about the risks of any kind of tobacco use in this population group,” King added. – by Janel Miller
Disclosures: The authors report no relevant financial disclosures.