Increasing mental health issues and vaping among youth

Concerns over youth vaping statistics among increasing mental health issues

As many of our youth returned to school earlier this month, we experienced a collective sigh of relief to be returning to a sense of “normal”. Fall sports, meet-the-teacher nights, pep rallies, homecoming dances, etc. allow us to put our COVID lifestyles into our memory bank as we move forward as a society. While we have much to be grateful for, a recently published study in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) shows that youth depression and anxiety doubled during the pandemic, compared to pre-pandemic estimates. Meanwhile, youth vaping remains at epidemic levels with nearly 20% of high schoolers vaping, with nearly 40% of those who vape, doing so on a regular basis. Additionally, a study of nearly 900,000 participants (ages 18-24) from 2016 to 2017, showed e-cigarette users had higher odds of reporting a history of clinical diagnosis of depression compared with participants who never used e-cigarettes. (Based on results of the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.)

Many high schoolers state that their reason for vaping is to reduce feelings of anxiety, depression and/or stress. A junior at a local high school stated “vaping provides a boost in energy, a brief moment of happiness and an escape from the reality of being a teen.” (Briana, age 17) She shared that it is easy to obtain these products without at ID and that students at her school share tips on which retailers are willing to sell to youth. It is common knowledge among high school teens where to go to purchase e-cigarettes/vape pens.

Accessibility is a huge issue in our community. Posh, a popular disposable vape brand used by youth, offers candy and fruit flavored products (banana smoothie, frozen mango, mixed cocktail, etc) which are appealing to young users. With a cost of less than $7, or a meal at a fast food restaurant, the accessibility and seemingly inexpensive nature of these devices targets youth and entices them to use a product that could lead to a lifelong addiction. These disposable vapes allow for 200 puffs and contain 60mg of nicotine (a traditional cigarette = 10 mg). Another concern is that the user rarely can tell how much of the product they are using at a time, so there’s no regulation on the amount of nicotine they are taking in within an hour, day, week, etc. They are easy to conceal in a hoodie or backpack, leaving parents virtually clueless to their child’s use.

Interestingly enough, a study completed by the Truth Initiative showed that 93% of youth who vape reported that vaping negatively affected their lives because it made them feel more stressed, depressed or anxious. So the method teens may be using to feel better is likely to be doing far more damage than intended, but is extremely difficult to stop using once it’s recognized by the user as dangerous.

On a statewide level, the WI Wins program is directly curbing underage use by helping retailers avoid underage tobacco sales thru retailer education and conducting compliance checks with the help of local police departments. In the wake of COVID 19, contractors for the WI Wins program are focusing on community outreach to raise awareness of the issues around tobacco and nicotine sales to minors and are actively providing updates to community partners. If you want to learn more about WI Wins, you can visit wiwins.org. If you are interested in a FREE retailer training to avoid underage tobacco sales, visit witobaccocheck.org.