Best way to help addicted teens? No one seems to know

WASHINGTON — The nation’s top health authorities agree: Teen vaping is an epidemic that now affects some 3.6 million underage users of Juul and other e-cigarettes. But no one seems to know the best way to help teenagers who may be addicted to nicotine.

E-cigarettes are now the top high-risk substance used by teenagers, according to the latest U.S. figures, which show that Juul and similar products have quickly outpaced cigarettes, alcohol, marijuana and other substances that have been tracked over more than four decades.

The handheld devices heat a liquid solution that usually contains nicotine into an inhalable vapor. Federal law prohibits sales to those under 18, though many high schoolers report getting them from older students or online.

In recent months, government officials have rolled out a series of proposals aimed at keeping the products away from youngsters, including tightening sales in convenience stores and online. In November, the San Francisco vaping giant Juul voluntarily shut down its Facebook and Instagram accounts and pulled several flavors out of retail stores.

But there’s been little discussion of how to treat nicotine addiction in children as young as 11 years old. While some adolescents should be able to quit unaided, experts say many will be hampered by withdrawal symptoms, including anxiety, irritability, difficulty concentrating and loss of appetite.

Physicians who treat young people now face a series of dilemmas: The antismoking therapies on the market — such as nicotine patches and gums — are not approved for children, due to lack of testing or ineffective results.

The harshness of cigarette smoke often limits how much teenagers inhale, sometimes discouraging them from picking up the habit altogether. That deterrent doesn’t exist with ecigarette vapor, which is typically much easier to inhale, according to experts.

Kicking any addiction requires discipline, patience and a willingness to follow a treatment plan — something that doesn’t come easily to many young people, experts said.

“Teenagers have their own ideas of what might work for them, and they’re going to do what they do,” said Susanne Tanski, a tobacco prevention expert with the American Academy of Pediatrics. “But we desperately need studies to figure out what’s going to work with this population.”

Since debuting in the U.S. in 2007, e-cigarettes and other vaping devices have grown into a $6.6 billion business. Driving the recent surge in underage use are small, easy-to-conceal devices like Juul, which vaporizes a highnicotine solution sold in flavors such as creme, mango and cucumber.

E-cigarettes have become a scourge in U.S. schools, with students often vaping in the bathroom or between classes. One in 5 high schoolers reported vaping in the past month, according to 2018 federal survey figures.