Not only is teen vaping rampant in the U.S., but also under the radar of most parents, according to a new study.

The University of California San Francisco School of Dentistry (UCSF) conducted the research, and results were published in the Official Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Dr. Benjamin Chaffee, the study’s senior author and associate professor at USCF School of Dentistry told CNN, “When parents think about tobacco, many will picture smoking a cigarette but other tobacco and nicotine products may not come to mind.”

He said that by using e-cigarettes instead of regular cigarettes, children won’t have the lingering odor of traditional cigarettes that give the habit away to those around them. Many e-cigarette devices also are designed to resemble other technological gadgets, such as jump drives. A lot of adults wouldn’t question today’s youth carrying a jump drive, which is also small enough to hide in a pocket or backpack. Teen vaping is much easier to hide from adults than teen smoking ever was.

The study found that while 70% of parents and guardians of children who smoke traditional cigarettes either knew or suspected their children were doing so, only 40% of those with children who use e-cigarettes knew or suspected such use.

Researchers looked at children ages 12 through 17 and between the years 2013 and 2018. Called the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study, the study took into account whether or not parents spoke with their children about tobacco use and what their expectations were.

In fact, youth use of any type of tobacco product was lower when the children and parents agreed that all tobacco products should be banned in the household, preventing both visitors and all those who lived there from partaking in any e-cigarette, cigarette or smokeless tobacco activity. A family agreement to refrain was more apt to deter young people from using tobacco more so than when the parents simply discussed tobacco with their kids, said the study.

CDC Releases New Teen Vaping Numbers

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a new report last month that indicated about one in every five high schoolers and one in every 20 middle school students uses e-cigarettes.

In both 2019 and 2020, prefilled cartridges or pods were the most popularly used devices, which includes the top-selling Juul vaping device and Juul pods. The CDC reports that high school kids’ use of disposable e-cigarettes increased 1,000% between 2019 and 2020, from 2.4% to 26.5% while that of middle schoolers increased about 400%, from 3% to 15.2%.

One of the biggest lures for children to try vaping has been the availability of candy-flavored and fruit-flavored vaping juices. Studies found that many times, kids don’t even realize they are inhaling anything but flavored water vapor, but most of the vaping products contain as much nicotine as (or even more than) regular cigarettes.

Seeing an epidemic of children becoming hooked on nicotine after years of notable decline in cigarette use, many cities voted to ban the sales of sweet and fruity flavored vaping juices. In January, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) restricted the sale of most fruit and mint flavored vaping products.

“The United States has never seen an epidemic of substance use arise as quickly as our current epidemic of youth use of e-cigarettes,” Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar told the FDA.

Stanford Medicine researchers also found that teenagers and young adults who regularly vape have a five to seven times greater risk of contracting COVID-19 when compared with peers who do not vape.

Bonnie Halpern-Felsher, PhD, professor of pediatrics and the Stanford study’s senior author, said, “Teens and young adults need to know that if you use e-cigarettes, you are likely at immediate risk of COVID-19 because you are damaging your lungs.”

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This article is not legal advice. It is presented 
for informational purposes only.