In the United States, young people who vape at 14 (or younger) have tripled in recent years. More than a quarter of them say they started when they were 12 years old.
Being on college benches, and vaping. In the United States, this image is increasingly common. In five years, the number of teenagers aged 14 or younger has tripled, according to a study by researchers at the University of Michigan. This year, 28% of “vapers” say they started at the age of 14 at the latest. In 2014, they were 9%. More than a quarter of users say they started vaping at age 12, according to study results published in the journal American Journal of Public Health.
The risk of switching to traditional cigarettes
“This is alarming because research shows that early e-cigarette use is linked to later risk of smoking, cigarette addiction, difficulty quitting smoking,” the study authors explain. Indeed, in the United States, some young people use the electronic cigarette not to quit smoking, but to start. “At the same time, the use of e-cigarettes has skyrocketed over the past five years. It is also important to note that children also start smoking cigarettes at an early age. More than half of children who said they had ever used cigarettes before the age of 16 or 17 said they started at age 14.
A gap between the United States and France
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), e-cigarette use among American teens (ages 11-18) increased from 1.5% to 20.8% between 2011 and 2018. France, the figures are much lower: 1.6% of 17-year-olds vape daily, according to a survey by the French Office for Drugs and Drug Addiction (OFDT), and 30% of them say they have tried cigarettes electronic. However, 25% of them say they smoke every day. According to the authors of the study, this increase, in the United States, is explained by a perception according to which the e-cigarette is not as harmful and addictive as the traditional cigarette.
Governments must act
However, even if we do not know precisely the effects of electronic cigarettes on health, several studies have been published in recent years. Thus, vaping would cause lung health problems, but also cardiovascular. The World Health Organization considers it “unquestionably harmful” and does not recommend that smokers switch to electronic cigarettes in order to wean themselves off tobacco.
Researchers from the University of Michigan, authors of the present study, recommend for their part to implement public health policies with the aim of preventing young people from being exposed to electronic cigarettes. In September, the State of Massachusetts was the first to temporarily ban the sale of all electronic cigarettes. Michigan and New York had only suspended the sale of flavored products.
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