More Middle Schoolers Are Vaping
Find out what the latest data on vaping tells us, get tips about how to talk about this with kids, and read my recommendations about vaping education in schools.
Hello! I’m Christopher Pepper. I’m a dad, a teacher, and a journalist. In Teen Health Today I write about mental health, relationships, substance use, and the many other issues tweens and teens deal with daily. I always aim to provide practical, easy-to-use information.
Subscribe for free to enjoy weekly posts from me. Or, better yet, join our community of parents, educators, and caring adults to unlock ALL my content, including exclusive posts and discussions. Subscriptions are only $5/month, and teachers get a 50% discount.
The generosity of readers like you is what keeps this boat afloat. If you’re not already a paid subscriber, I’d love you to join us!
How Many Students Are Vaping?
Pediatrician Scott Hadland, Chief of Adolescent Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, recently appeared on WCVB-TV to talk about the results of the 2023 National Youth Tobacco Survey. The survey found that vaping may be getting less popular with high school students, but is increasing among middle school students.
Here’s the news clip:
Here are some additional reflections on this data from Dr. Hadland:
I think teens are increasingly seeing the downsides of vaping -- and the addiction that can develop to nicotine. Just as teens came to understand the combustible cigarette industry as targeting them, I'm wondering if teens are building mistrust of e-cig manufacturers and their products.
The teens I see in my clinic are frustrated. Nicotine addiction is unpleasant: Stopping nicotine leads to uncomfortable withdrawal (irritability, difficulty concentrating, headaches) and cravings for nicotine that are really disruptive.
We commonly need high doses of the nicotine patch (21 mg) and nicotine gum or lozenges -- and for teens 17 and older, varenicline (Chantix) -- to help manage withdrawal and cravings.
E-cigs, with their high nicotine concentration and minimal odor giving opportunities for teens to vape throughout the day, including at school, make developing a nicotine use disorder really easy. A lot of teens and families I see in my practice feel frustrated at how easy it is to get e-cigs and develop a nicotine use disorder.
Why are middle school students increasingly vaping? E-cigs remain enticing. We have to keep boosting evidence-based substance use prevention in our schools to give students the decision-making skills and knowledge they need to navigate in a world where e-cigs are easy to get and use.
Why Is So Much Vaping happening IN Schools?
In this article in Edutopia, writer Paige Tutt talks about the alarming amount of vaping that is happening on school grounds during the school day, and how schools are trying to address it.
“It came out of nowhere,” sighs principal David Maxwell, like someone describing a meteor crashing to Earth. But Principal Maxwell isn’t talking about cosmic debris; he’s talking about vapes, the portable smoking devices marketed by companies like JUUL and Elf Bar.
When the devices first started appearing at his Iowa-based Valley High School—home to approximately 2,200 students in grades 10 through 12—kids were “so brazen,” Maxwell says, that they would blow clouds of vapor right in front of him. “Are you serious?” he’d think. “Come on, man. You can’t do that in school.”
What Can Families Do?
TalkAboutVaping.org is a resource from the American Lung Association that provides lots of talking points parents and caregivers can use to address this issue with teens. Here’s how they promote their free conversation guide:
You can play a significant role in protecting your child from the dangers of vaping and nicotine dependence. Maintain an open line of communication with your kid, and use the tips and suggestions below as a framework for having a productive conversation.
Free Parent Talk: Nicotine, Vaping, and Cannabis
In May, Stanford University will be hosting an “eye-opening online event focused on the Triangulum of Nicotine, Vaping, and Cannabis.” Designed specifically for parents and guardians, this event aims to provide valuable insights and information about these pressing topics. Learn about the risks, potential benefits, and how to have open conversations with your children. Register now and be part of this important discussion!
FREE - Tuesday, May 14 · 6 - 7:30pm PDT
What Can Teachers Do?
You and Me, Together Vape-Free is a free curriculum from Stanford University that provides excellent lessons for elementary, middle, and high schools. It’s my top recommendation when someone asks for classroom lessons about vaping.
What About Students Who Are Caught Vaping?
Healthy Futures is a program schools can use with students who are caught vaping, or with students who ask for help quitting. This program is packed with a self-paced lesson, a group 2- or 4-hour teacher or counselor-led curriculum, quitting resources, and more.
Stanford University, which provides the curriculum for free, recommends that it be used as an educational opportunity in lieu of a suspension for first time offenses.
Stanford’s 5th Annual Teaching Cannabis Awareness & Prevention Virtual Conference
This conference is for educators, community-based organizations, school administrators, healthcare providers, school resource officers, counselors, parents, and anyone else working with youth to learn about the latest research on youth and cannabis, including products being used, reasons for use, health effects, and the latest available lessons for teaching cannabis education and prevention to middle- and high school-aged youth.
The theme of the conference is the Triangulum: Cannabis, Tobacco, and Vaping. The intersection of these products is important to discuss, especially given more and more research showing that youth are likely using multiple tobacco and vaping products, and often use these products with cannabis.
I’ll be co-leading a session called “Approaches from Three Teachers on How to Teach About Cannabis and Vaping with Students.”
Event Info: April 17-18, 2024, 8 AM-2 PM PT/ 11 AM-5 pm ET
(Sessions recorded and available to registrants later). Register here
THANKS FOR READING!
And extra special thanks to those of you supporting Teen Health Today through a paid subscription to this Substack and by purchasing books through our page on Bookshop.org, where we feature many of the books we’ve talked about in this newsletter.
Recent Teen Health Today Highlights
How To Talk To Youth About Nex Benedict
The 16-year-old student, who was bullied for being nonbinary, died after a fight in a school bathroom. We need to talk about it.3 Things Schools Can Do to REALLY Improve Student Health
Research shows that the CDC’s "What Works In Schools" program, initially designed to reduce sexual risk behaviors, actually has a huge number of positive effects for teens and schoolsW. Kamau Bell Asks: Are You With Me?
The Emmy-award winning comedian talks about parenting, education, and his latest projectsEverybody's Talking About The "Boy Crisis." Here's Why You Should Care.
How are boys and men struggling, and what can we do about it.
If you enjoyed this post, please forward it to someone else who might like it, and click the ❤️ or 🔁 button on this post so more people can discover it on Substack. 🙏🏼