Surprise, surprise. Now you’re probably wondering what a bold statement the above may seem but truth is, it isn’t really far from the truth. Kids these days aren’t only indulging in the idea of looking cool with a vaporizer at hand, they’re also doing it for the flavor bursts that all the awesome new e-liquids have to offer.
According to a study conducted at the University of Michigan and lead by Dr. Richard Miech, teens are mainly interested in vaping for the flavors, not for nicotine. A nation-wide survey showed that more than two thirds of teens chose to vape flavored e-liquid with no nicotine.
Another similar study released on Pediatrics journal, conducted research on tobacco and nicotine use with California high school 12th graders during 1995, 1998, 2001, 2004, and 2014. The study included over 5,400 students in total, and was conducted until completion of high school for each selected class.
In 2007, e-cigarettes made a splash on the market, and according to the California researchers, they did little to reduce tobacco usage. However, the study was conducted very differently. In 2004, 9% of 12th graders reported having smoked tobacco in the last 30 days, while in 2014, 8% of the students reported having smoked in the past 30 days. Additionally, the study claims that contrary to Dr. Miech’s study, most students are using nicotine in their juice.
These e-juices come in a wide variety of flavors including bubblegum, cotton candy and pretty much any other appetizing flavor you may think of (and yes, it too does include chocolate the flavor of Nutella).
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), middle and high school kids using e-cigarettes have tripled between the years 2013 and 2014. This analysis was only exposed as early as last year and ever since 2016 started, the CDC has repeatedly revisited the analysis and have continued advocating urges to reduce the number of e-cigarette users throughout the middle and high school ages. Now I am no scientist but by the sounds of it, with all the attraction in e-cigarette usage through flavor and looking cool while doing it, it’s going to be a tough battle the CDC will be having to fight to make kids stop finding e-cigs so attractive.
Based on the 2015 report, middle school kids who smoke e-cigarettes had increased from a mere 1.1% to an astounding 3.9% while high school kids using e-cigs rose from a 4.5% mark to a cringe-worthy 13.4%. If anything, e-cigarette usage has been proven to be not as damaging as smoking cigarettes although there have been several reports and publications stating that dismissing the possibility of cigarette smoking, children would have not ended up smoking entirely if e-cigarettes did not exist. Arguably, this theory cannot be proven as the reality is that e-cigarettes do exist and therefore hypothetical situations wouldn’t be of much benefit to the current situation.
The study from Michigan included 3800 students nationwide, but it is still being questioned by opposing groups. If accurate, the most common reason for teenagers to smoke e-cigarettes is flavoring, with an approximate of 65% of students reporting that they only used nicotine-free e-liquid.
If kids are in fact smoking for flavor and not for the nicotine, there is a possibility that e-cigarettes are not able to act as the main gateway to conventional tobacco smoking. This theory has been backed up by Dr Richard Miech of Medical News Today where he stated;
“Even if kids are not vaping nicotine, vaping could still predict smoking initiation to the extent that vaping teaches kids to smoke and gets them used to the behavior.
Regardless of the substance vaped, vaping removes the substantial psychological barriers involved in the inhalation of smoke into the lungs. And vaping any substance could desensitize youth to the dangers of smoking; that is, after vaping flavoring and not seeing any immediate health detriment, some vapers may conclude the dangers of smoking/vaping are exaggerated.
While vaping may serve as a smoking cessation tool for adults, it seems to be used very differently among adolescents, he reiterated. Taking into account these different use patterns will likely help future intervention to curb nicotine addiction be more effective.”