Nicotine Use Among Teens Increases

Nicotine use has increased significantly among teenagers since 2011 and the use of the drug can harm youth brain development, which impacts attention, memory and learning. The bright colors of some vaping devices draw them in, but the flavors and addicting effects of the drug are consistently bringing these teenagers back for more. To prevent youth e-cigarette use, health advocates are calling for the elimination of all flavored vapes and e-cigarettes. The FDA’s announcement in 2020 restricts some flavored e-cigarettes, but this policy contains loopholes that allow thousands of flavored products that appeal to the vulnerability of kids across the U.S. These products include cheap, disposable e-cigarettes like Flums or Bangs, advertised with bright colors and sweet flavors that have become increasingly popular with kids. Vials of nicotine-infused juice come in a wide variety of flavors and are sold to refill pods that connect to other devices like Novo and Nord. According to the 2019 National Youth Tobacco Survey, between 2011 and 2019, the number of high school students using e-cigarettes or vaping devices grew from 1.5 percent to 27.5 percent. Allissa Ferguson, of Orange County, California, says she was “shocked, but not surprised.” She also included that addiction to alcohol and smoking cigarettes used to be much more popular, but the accessibility and simplicity of hiding a small, battery-powered device make things so much easier and less risky. Studies have found that most youth e-cigarette users use these flavored products and say they use these products “because they come in flavors I like.” Among all current e-cigarette users, 82.9% used flavored e-cigarettes, including 84.7 percent of high school users and 73.9 percent of middle school users. Lyla Wilks, a current vape owner, said that she, too, has struggled with addiction for a long time and is very familiar with some of these devices that she began using early on in high school.