US teens dump drugs and turn to electronic cigarettes

Twice as many high school students in the US used electronic cigarettes this year compared with last year.

There has been a surge in the use of electronic cigarettes by teenagers in the US this year.

Twice as many US high school students used ­electronic cigarettes this year compared with last year, an ­unprecedented jump in an annual survey of teen smoking, drinking and drug use.

It was the largest single-year increase in the survey’s 44-year history, far surpassing a mid-1970s surge in marijuana smoking.

The findings, released yesterday, echo those of a US government survey earlier this year. That survey also found a dramatic rise in vaping among children and prompted federal regulators to press for measures that make it harder for kids to get them.

Experts attribute the jump to newer versions of e-cigarettes, such as those by Juul Labs that resemble computer flash drives and can be used discreetly.

Trina Hale, a junior at South Charleston High School in West Virginia, said vaping exploded at her school this year.

“They can put it in their sleeve or their pocket. They can do it wherever, whenever. They can do it in class if they’re sneaky about it,” she said.

This year’s survey findings were based on responses from about 45,000 students in Years 8, 10 and 12. It found one in five high school seniors reported having vaped nicotine in the previous month.

After vaping and alcohol, the most common substance used by teens was marijuana. About one in four students said they had used marijuana at least once in the past year. Overall, marijuana smoking was about the same level as it was the past few years.

More teens, however, are saying no to other drugs. Use of cocaine, LSD, ecstasy, heroin and opioid pills all declined.

Experts said it was not clear what was behind the trends. “What is it that we’re doing right with teenagers that we’re not doing with adults?” said Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, a federal agency.

One leading theory is that kids today are staying home and communicating on smartphones rather than hanging out and smoking, drinking or trying drugs. “Drug experimentation is a group activity,” Dr Volkow said.

AP