Local: Report shows vaping by high schoolers is on the rise.
Officials believe fruit, candy-flavored products are partly to blame
SAN JOSE » Almost one-third of high school students in Santa Clara County have tried vaping, according to a new county survey, and about 13% reported they currently use e- cigarettes.
That’s a major jump from a 2015 survey, which found 18% of middle and high school students in the county tried vaping at least once in their lifetime and 6% reported using e- cigarettes.
Although the latest survey contained some changes, its results reveal a sharp rise in e- cigarette use by teens, said Nicole Coxe, a program manager for Santa Clara County’s Tobacco Free Communities program.
Public health officials believe that rise is due in part to fruit and candy-flavored products geared toward youth.
“One of the key findings in the survey is that 8 in 10 high school students reported using a flavored tobacco product with the e- cigarette use,” Coxe said. “We know that flavors are an element that’s really attractive to young people … and it leads to a perception that these products are less harmful,
which is not the case.”
Less than half of high school students who use tobacco products paid for their own e- cigarettes or cigarettes, according to the county survey, and 28% said they have been offered an e- cigarette, cigarette or tobacco product in the past month. Among students who had never used any of these products, 13.5% said they had been offered one in the past month.
Some 47.4% of students who currently use e- cigarettes said they bought the devices or e- cigarette liquid themselves, and 52.6% said they obtained them through social circles without paying.
There is some good news: The county survey also found that cigarette smoking has hit a historic low. In 2017 and 2018, only 1.4% of students reported currently smoking cigarettes, with similar or lower rates of use for other combustible tobacco products such as cigars.
In contrast with the steady decline of cigarette smoking over the past decade, the trend of vaping has risen among teenagers nationwide, growing by 78%, from 11.7% in 2017 to 20.8% in 2018, according to a survey funded by the Centers for Disease Control and the Food and Drug Administration.
E- cigarettes are batterypowered devices that deliver nicotine and flavorings in the form of a vapor — hence the term vaping.
The authors of that national survey contend that youth e- cigarette use is fueled by the advent of devices such as JUUL, handheld e- cigarette tools shaped and sized like a USB drive, making them easy to use discreetly.
Vaping also has gained traction as it is believed to be generally less harmful than smoking cigarettes. But it’s unclear how safe or unsafe e- cigarette devices are, and whether they are actually effective in helping people quit smoking.
Nicotine is known to be highly addictive and can harm brain development in young people.
From 2010 to 2016, Santa Clara County introduced restrictions on flavored tobacco products, including a ban on selling them in unincorporated parts of the county. A few cities in the region have similar restrictions, including Los Gatos, Palo Alto and Saratoga.
In June, San Francisco became the first U. S. city to ban the sale and distribution of JUUL and other e- cigarettes until they get approval from the U. S. Food and Drug Administration, citing the rise in use among youth.
Meanwhile, a bill aimed at cracking down on tobacco retailers who sell to youth is making its way through the state Assembly. Assembly Bill 1639, proposed by Assemblyman Adam Gray, D-Merced, would require stores to use age verification technology to make sure e- cigarette and tobacco customers are at least 21, would increase fines and penalties for stores that sell to underage buyers and would prohibit e- cigarette companies from targeting youth in their advertising and marketing.