is vaping really an "epidemic" among teens?

[casuald00d]

so over the past few months or so i feel like i've seen numerous reports in the news referring to vaping as an "epidemic" among teenagers. is this true?

i have encountered some underage users of vaping products. this much is for sure. actually, i was playing video games the other day and ran into a young man online, a high schooler he claimed, who said that he used juul all the time and said that it was super popular where he went to school. mind you, the implication was that these were other underage users. left me wondering, are these news reports accurate? is juuling and vaping in general really that much of an issue with today's youth?

if it is, what can the vaping industry do to help prevent use of these products in the hands of the young? personally, i feel as if this is somewhat of a double-edged sword. one on side, you have the benefit to people like me who used to smoke. it's done wonders for me, i'll attest. but then you have the downside, being exposure of nicotine products to people who should, imo, steer clear of them. i'm looking for a risk mitigator, but to others, i see how vaping can be a risk enhancer.

thoughts?

 

[casuald00d]

also, i get the impression that this whole underage vaping concern is being weaponized to attack vapers as well as the vapor industry. e.g. flavor bans.

this seems like nonsense to me. i would much prefer stronger access restrictions. limiting flavor options screws over people like me and others who stand to benefit from transitioning from smoking to vaping but it seems to do little to deter underage use. i mean, it's already illegal for them to access these products. removing flavors doesn't change the fact that they're illegally accessing these products.

 

[Coyote628]

Well, tobacco never was able to be kept out of the hands of teens in past years. How do they expect to keep vaping out of their hands now?

 

[Coyote628]

The media never sensationalized teen smoking for the last 80 yrs why are they doing it now with teen vaping? THAT is the million dollar question.

 

[Letitia]

The media did at one time address teen smoking. Government jumped on that wagon too and the higher sin taxes got ridiculous. Save the kids is getting to be too easy an excuse for government to interfere with free choice.

 

[Walee]

From my informal study, it's really "bipolar". Half the kids tell me all their friends are vaping and the other half say only the real dork outcasts vape. But of course that has nothing to do whatsoever with media or guberment. Those two entities are simply parasites.

 

[Letitia]

Wish they would address bullying with the same vigor.

 

[untar]

If you define "vaping" as "I have seen an ecig and taken a drag once" then it's probably widespread. If you define it as we understand it then probably not. Take a look at the definitions they're going with in those youth studies.

 

[Tim Wiseman]

In the UK there has been parliamentary committee's looking at vaping again, and is coming out in favour of vaping as an alternative to smoking that should be encouraged rather than lumping it together with smoking as if they were the same. The reports have made a number of recommendations which mean post Brexit the TPD regulations will practically be ripped up and the UK and we will have a vaping friendly approach. The difference is the UK when looking at it again did it based on evidence and not interested in reports that can't be backed up with evidence. They were not interested if X said that or this agency said y or even looking over the pond the FDA said W they dealt with facts backed up with evidence. There was a concern in the UK that young people will see vaping as cool and all doing it but the evidence says that just has not happened. It's easy to see a few youths vaping and come to a conclusion but the fact is a youth that takes up vaping would of in most cases of took up smoking if vaping didn't exist.

 

[englishmick]

so over the past few months or so i feel like i've seen numerous reports in the news referring to vaping as an "epidemic" among teenagers. is this true?

i have encountered some underage users of vaping products. this much is for sure. actually, i was playing video games the other day and ran into a young man online, a high schooler he claimed, who said that he used juul all the time and said that it was super popular where he went to school. mind you, the implication was that these were other underage users. left me wondering, are these news reports accurate? is juuling and vaping in general really that much of an issue with today's youth?

if it is, what can the vaping industry do to help prevent use of these products in the hands of the young? personally, i feel as if this is somewhat of a double-edged sword. one on side, you have the benefit to people like me who used to smoke. it's done wonders for me, i'll attest. but then you have the downside, being exposure of nicotine products to people who should, imo, steer clear of them. i'm looking for a risk mitigator, but to others, i see how vaping can be a risk enhancer.

thoughts?

There's another type of double edged sword in there. It's possible that there are kids who pick up vaping and stick with it long term who would never have used nicotine otherwise. My guess is it's a small number compared with kids that take up vaping who would otherwise have taken up smoking. The rise in vaping has been accompanied by a major drop off in smoking in that age group. Unfortunately there's no way of pointing to a vaping kid and knowing which of those two groups they belong to.

Fads sweep through the teen population all the time. The kids almost always move on to the next fad after a while. Smoking is different because it's addictive. Once you're in it's hard to get out. Since vaping doesn't appear to be addictive in the same way it probably operates more like a regular teen fad.

 

[LAwaters]

Selling vape products to minors is already against the law. Responsible retailers have age-verification in place and do not sell to minors. The problem is adults buying it for them, "straw man" bulk purchases where it's then resold to minors, and lax retailers. IMO, it's likely to be convenience stores who are lax.

This is an enforcement issue. It's the FDA's job to handle that. I'd like to know where the FDA industry-wide threats are regarding tobacco sales to minors or alcohol sales to minors.

To force an industry to lower their product quality to reduce appeal is unprecedented regulatory overreach. The teen vaping is just an excuse. No one wants teens to be vaping.

 

[Topwater Elvis]

Teenagers should be outlawed.

Problem solved.

 

[casuald00d]

There's another type of double edged sword in there. It's possible that there are kids who pick up vaping and stick with it long term who would never have used nicotine otherwise. My guess is it's a small number compared with kids that take up vaping who would otherwise have taken up smoking. The rise in vaping has been accompanied by a major drop off in smoking in that age group. Unfortunately there's no way of pointing to a vaping kid and knowing which of those two groups they belong to.

Fads sweep through the teen population all the time. The kids almost always move on to the next fad after a while. Smoking is different because it's addictive. Once you're in it's hard to get out. Since vaping doesn't appear to be addictive in the same way it probably operates more like a regular teen fad.

while i also assume, mind you it's just an assumption, that the majority of those that take it up would have likely taken up smoking were vaping not an option, leaving them in better shape due to its existence (as smoking is clearly more harmful), i really don't think i agree with vaping not being "addictive in the same way" because i'm just going to be super honest here and say that i personally feel very addicted to vaping lol. the times when i haven't had juice, which has been rare since i've taken up full time vaping instead of smoking, i've been a wreck similar to when i had no cigarettes back in my smoking days. in fact, i've even bummed a cigarette and smoked it. it's hard for me to analyze my decision there in relapsing but it seems to me like at the core of this is, at the least, one dependency/addiction: nicotine. beyond that, it seems to be an oral fixation of sort and perhaps something to do with the sensation of inhalation. i don't know but i don't think i could go as far as to say that vaping isn't as addictive, assuming nicotine is at play. although i do recognize some vape without nicotine (i'd actually like to eventually get to this point and then ditch the vaping entirely, that is my actual goal with all this).

 

[casuald00d]

Teenagers should be outlawed.

Problem solved.

i believe you have just won this debate lol

 

[casuald00d]

To force an industry to lower their product quality to reduce appeal is unprecedented regulatory overreach. The teen vaping is just an excuse. No one wants teens to be vaping.

mm, you raise an interesting point here. imagine if the government banned flavor alcohol because of concerns of youth alcohol exposure, claiming that the flavored alcohol is too appealing for children to resist lol

 

[Tonee N]

Teenagers should be outlawed.

Problem solved.

Initiate the Hunger Games.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

 

[Big Me]

I don't see how this is now an epidemic when the rate of teenage vaping (according to US government reports) has gone down since 2015.

 

[Bunnykiller]

I started smoking full time when I was 15... and that was wayyyy back in the years ago ( 1972-73) the choice then was either smoke or dont... and with both of my parents being smokers, I still had my daily intake even if I didnt "smoke"...
and, I was still in the "smoking is cool" era and it was widely accepted EVERYWHERE.... even on planes.. too bad my "generation" didnt have a choice between something that can kill you compared to something safer...

if I had a kid and discovered that it was vaping, I would try to talk them out of it ( knowing myself the "costs" involved) but if it came down to vaping or smoking... Id give a thumbs up to the vape... and there were other choices to choose from too... especially back in the 70's... if the kids are going to do it ( which they will if they want to) take the least damaging choice...

and before anyone goes off on this..... how many of yall did everything your parents told you to do, followed all their directions and obeyed everything they said???

( Im gonna say 0% cuz yall are all here due to vaping/smoking )

 

[casuald00d]

I don't see how this is now an epidemic when the rate of teenage vaping (according to US government reports) has gone down since 2015.

do you happen to have a link to the official government data backing this claim? i have not seen it but would love to take a peek for myself if possible.

 

[Bunnykiller]

not to go off topic but... when I was a teenager the epidemic we had to worry about was mononucleosis....