Vaping--A New Public Health Epidemic

Teen Vaping has recently emerged as a leading public health concern across Massachusetts, including Concord.  

 Local and state public health data support this concern: 

• Recent data show that e-cigarette use increased by 78 percent among high school students and by 48 percent among middle school students from 2017 to 2018 (CDC 2018 National Youth Tobacco Survey)
• As of 2018, approximately 24% of Massachusetts teens report using e-cigarettes within the past 30 days, compared to 8% who report using tobacco products. 
• In 1995, 35% of Massachusetts high school student reported smoking regularly.  Due to 20 years of tobacco reduction efforts, by 2017 only 6.4% of high school students smoked regularly.  The recent surge in youth vaping threatens to undo decades of tobacco reduction efforts and expose another generation of youth to nicotine addiction.
• The 2018 Concord Carlisle Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) results show similar trends
  • 23% of CCHS students have vaped within the past 30 days;
  • This rate has doubled since the 2016 YRBS. 
  • 34% of CCHS students in Grade 12 report vaping in the past 30 days
  • In comparison, only 3% of CCHS students report using tobacco in the past 30 days.
  • There is a strong association between vaping and use of other substances.  Youth who use the following substances are highly likely to vape:  cigarettes (88% also vape); Chewing tobacco (92%); Marijuana (81%); Alcohol (65%)
• Young people who use e-cigarettes are four times more likely to start smoking cigarettes (Berry, et. al., JAMA 2018)
• E-cigarette use among youth puts them at risk for early nicotine addiction, which can harm brain development and make adolescent brains more susceptible to other addictive drugs (US Surgeon General 2016)