WORRIES OF LUNG HEALTH DURING PANDEMIC SPARK A DROP IN VAPING
Study shows two-thirds of teens, young adults quit or cut back this year
Vaping among teens and young adults has decreased dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic, with two-thirds of e-cigarette users reporting that they’ve either cut back or quit, a new study says.
About 32 percent of e-cigarette users said they quit this year, and an additional 35 percent reported cutting back, according to survey results published Thursday in JAMA Network Online.
Concerns about lung health were a major factor in their decision, the results indicate. One in 4 respondents who cut back or quit said they were motivated by concern that vaping could weaken their lungs.
Research has shown that smokers have a higher risk of severe COVID-19 infection, noted senior researcher Bonnie HalpernFelsher, a developmental psychologist and professor of pediatrics at Stanford University in California.
Vapers’ worries were probably also motivated by the 2019 nationwide outbreak of EVALI, which involved thousands of lung injuries related to e-cigarette use, she added.
“One of the main reasons they quit is that they were worried about lung health, and we think that’s important, that they thought they could hurt their lungs,” Halpern-Felsher said.
These results showed that health concerns are a legitimate way to combat e-cigarette use among teens and young adults, said Dr. Panagis Galiatsatos, director of the Johns Hopkins Tobacco Treatment Clinic in Baltimore.
“If you put things in your lungs that isn’t air, you’re more likely to suffer severe COVID-19 outcomes,” said Galiatsatos, who wasn’t part of the study. “If we can emphasize that vaping is not healthy and make it appear unattractive, we will win over this generation of e-cigarette users. We’ll get them to stop.”
The survey also found that: Heavy vapers who were more addicted to nicotine were the least likely to quit or cut back. Kids in lockdown were not strongly motivated to quit by fears of their parents finding out about their vaping. E-cigarette users who continued their habit showed great resourcefulness in obtaining vaping products during lockdown, in part by switching to online retailers.
The findings come from a nationwide online survey conducted in early May with more than 4,300 participants between 13 and 24 years old. Of those, nearly 2,200 said they had used e-cigarettes.
Vapers were 68 percent less likely to quit if they’d used an e-cigarette 100 or more times, and 51 percent less likely to quit if they were nicotine dependent, according to survey results.
Kids who were adhering to stay-at-home mandates were 50 percent more likely to quit or reduce their vaping, researchers found.
However, only about 15 percent of those who did so said they stopped because they were worried about their parents finding out that they vape, the survey showed.
Newer e-cigarettes are small and easier to conceal, HalpernFelsher noted. For example, Juul devices resemble a USB flash drive.
Halpern-Felsher said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration should look at the size and style of these devices and make them harder for teens to conceal.
Experts are concerned that vaping will regain its popularity once the pandemic has passed.
E-cigarette use among youngsters tends to be highly social, and could expand once kids are again free to congregate, HalpernFelsher said.