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 The study team examined data on smoking and vaping by youth in
Canada, England and the U.S. and found that between 2017 and 2018,
the proportion of 16- to 19-year-olds who reported vaping in the
past 30 days rose by almost 50% in the U.S. and nearly doubled in
Canada, while remaining relatively constant in the UK.
The proportion of teens who said they had vaped in the previous 30
days rose in Canada from 8.4% in July-August 2017 to 14.6 % in
August-September 2018, and in the U.S. from 11.1% to 16.2% while
remaining stable at just under 9% in the UK.
"2018 marked the point at which new vaping technology started to
take over the market, led by JUUL," said David Hammond of the School
of Public Health at the University of Waterloo in Canada, who led
the study.
"The vapor from these products has a different chemistry that allows
them to deliver very high levels of nicotine, similar to regular
smoked cigarettes," Hammond said by email. "However, England has set
maximum limits on nicotine concentrate, which cuts the nicotine
level in half compared to the same brands sold in Canada and the
U.S., and England has also more strict rules on advertising of
e-cigarettes than the other two countries."
JUUL debuted its e-cigarettes in the U.S. in 2015 and now commands
more than half the market, researchers note in The BMJ. JUUL became
available in the UK in July 2018 and in Canada in September 2018.
Teen use of JUUL e-cigarettes increased in all three countries
during the study period. The proportion of U.S. adolescents who
reported JUUL was their usual brand surged threefold between 2017
and 2018 from 1% to 4.5%.
Many youth think vaping is not harmful and many are unaware of the
nicotine levels in the current generation of products, Hammond said.
He added, "Parents and kids should know that these products are
capable of producing addiction and may have long term health risks
from exposing the lungs to chemicals from e-cigarettes."
Some previous studies suggest that teens who vape may also be more
likely than those who don't to start smoking traditional cigarettes
and marijuana.
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Big tobacco companies, including Altria Group Inc, Lorillard Tobacco
Co and Reynolds American Inc, are all developing e-cigarettes. The
battery-powered devices feature a heating element that turns liquid
containing nicotine and flavorings into a cloud of vapor that users
inhale.
In an emailed statement, JUUL said, "We don't want any non-nicotine
user to use our products, especially youth," JUUL said in an emailed
statement. "We agree with the authors of the study about the need to
find 'the optimal regulatory balance that provides smokers with
reasonable access to these products, while restricting features of
such products that appeal to youth . . . ' and our actions to
prevent underage use reflect that. We have taken aggressive action
in both the U.S. and Canada to combat underage usage of our products
while preserving the opportunity for adult smokers to switch from
combustible cigarettes."
One limitation of the study is that it relied on teens to truthfully
report any vaping or smoking. Another drawback is that a one-year
study may not necessarily reflect what would happen with vaping
trends in the future.
Still, parents should talk to children and teens about the dangers
of smoking and vaping, said Professor Linda Bauld, chair of public
health at the College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine at the
University of Edinburgh, UK, who coauthored an editorial
accompanying the study.
"Parents should explain that vaping products are for adult smokers
trying to quit, not teenagers who have never smoked," Bauld said by
email.
"Vaping is less harmful than smoking, that's why it is a good option
for adult smokers," Bauld said. "But that doesn't mean that it is
risk free and it is better for teenagers to use nothing - no vaping,
no smoking."
SOURCE: https://bit.ly/2Xbc6gn and https://bit.ly/2XaBWRr The BMJ,
online June 20, 2019.
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