{"id":2910,"date":"2024-06-12T09:42:51","date_gmt":"2024-06-12T09:42:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/?p=2910"},"modified":"2024-06-12T09:42:54","modified_gmt":"2024-06-12T09:42:54","slug":"many-young-adults-who-began-vaping-as-teens-cant-shake-the-habit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/?p=2910","title":{"rendered":"Many Young Adults Who Began Vaping as Teens Can\u2019t Shake the Habit"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>\n\t<iframe loading=\"lazy\" allow=\"fullscreen\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"208\" src=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/player\/embed\/1243472523\/1244991327\" width=\"100%\"><\/iframe>\n<\/p>\n<p>G Kumar\u2019s vaping addiction peaked in college at the University of Colorado, when flavored, disposable vapes were taking off.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019d go through, let\u2019s say, 1,200 puffs in a week,\u201d Kumar said.<\/p>\n<p>Vaping became a crutch for them. Like losing a cellphone, losing a vape pen would set off a mad scramble.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt needs to be right next to my head when I fall asleep at night, and then in the morning, I have to thrash through the sheets and pick it up and find it,\u201d Kumar recalled.<\/p>\n<p>They got sick often, including catching covid-19 \u2014 and vaping through all of it.<\/p>\n<p>Kumar, now 24, eventually quit. But many of their generation can\u2019t shake the habit.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEveryone knows it\u2019s not good for you and everyone wants to stop,\u201d said Jacob Garza, a University of Colorado student who worked to raise awareness about substance use as part of the school\u2019s health promotion program.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut at this point, doing it all these years \u2026 it\u2019s just second nature now,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Marketing by e-cigarette companies, touting the allure of fruity or candy-like flavors and names, led many teens to try vaping. As more high schoolers and younger kids experimented with e-cigarettes, physicians and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/sections\/health-shots\/2018\/12\/18\/677755266\/surgeon-general-warns-youth-vaping-is-now-an-epidemic\">researchers warned<\/a> it could lead to widespread addiction, creating a \u201cGeneration Vape.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Research has shown <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC4560573\/#:~:text=Nicotine%20enhances%20neuronal%20activity%2C%20as,tegmental%20area%20(Shram%20et%20al.\">nicotine is highly rewarding<\/a> to the brains of young people.<\/p>\n<p>New data on substance use among adults ages 18-24 suggests that many former teen vapers remain e-cigarette users. National vaping rates for young adults increased from<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/nchs\/products\/databriefs\/db365.htm\"> 7.6% in 2018<\/a> to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/nchs\/data\/databriefs\/db475.pdf\">11% in 2021<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Rows of flavored tobacco vape juice on display at a store in Fresno, California, on Oct. 18.<span class=\"photo-credit\">(Marek Warszawski\/Fresno Bee\/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>It\u2019s not surprising that many of them start in high school for social reasons, for all sorts of reasons,\u201d said Delaney Ruston, a primary care physician and documentary filmmaker. \u201cAnd many of them now \u2014 we\u2019re seeing this \u2014 have continued to college and beyond.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her <a href=\"https:\/\/www.screenagersmovie.com\/about-screenagers-under-the-influence\">latest film<\/a> is \u201cScreenagers Under the Influence: Addressing Vaping, Drugs &amp; Alcohol in the Digital Age.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In Colorado, the share of those 18 to 24 who regularly vaped rose by about 61% from 2020 to 2022 \u2014 to nearly a quarter of that age group.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s an astounding increase in just two years,\u201d Ruston said.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block block--newsletter  \" data-type=\"kaiser-health-news\/newsletter\" data-align=\"center\" style=\"\">\n<h4 class=\"newsletter__title\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/email\/\"><br \/>\n\t\t\tEmail Sign-Up\t\t<\/a><br \/>\n\t<\/h4>\n<p class=\"newsletter__description\">\n\t\tSubscribe to KFF Health News&#8217; free Morning Briefing.\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Trends in that state are worth noting because, before the pandemic, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cpr.org\/2018\/06\/26\/vaping-cdc-says-25-percent-of-colorado-high-schoolers-use-e-cigarettes\/\">Colorado led the nation<\/a> in youth vaping among high school students, surpassing 36 other states surveyed.<\/p>\n<p>Nationally, vaping rates among high schoolers dropped from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/sections\/health-shots\/2019\/11\/06\/776397270\/more-teens-than-ever-are-vaping-heres-what-we-know-about-their-habits\">28% in 2019<\/a> to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fda.gov\/tobacco-products\/youth-and-tobacco\/results-annual-national-youth-tobacco-survey#Findings%20on%20Youth%20Use%20for%20E-Cigarette%20Products\">10% in 2023<\/a>, according to the Annual National Youth Tobacco Survey. But for many young people who started vaping at the height of the trend, a habit was set.<\/p>\n<p>At Children\u2019s Hospital Colorado, pediatric pulmonologist <a href=\"https:\/\/medschool.cuanschutz.edu\/accords\/about\/faculty-staff-directory\/De-Keyser-Heather-UCD13134\">Heather De Keyser<\/a> displayed on her screen a clouded X-ray of the lung of a young adult damaged by vaping.<\/p>\n<p>For years, doctors like her and public health experts wondered about the potentially <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/sections\/health-shots\/2019\/12\/16\/788540191\/vaping-nicotine-linked-to-increased-risk-of-chronic-lung-disease\">harmful impact of vaping<\/a> on pre-adult bodies and brains \u2014 especially the big risk of addiction.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think, unfortunately, those lessons that we were worried we were going to be learning, we\u2019re learning,\u201d said De Keyser, an associate professor of pediatrics in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.childrenscolorado.org\/doctors-and-departments\/departments\/breathing-institute\/\">Breathing Institute at Children\u2019s Hospital Colorado<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re seeing increases in those young adults. They weren\u2019t able to stop.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/06\/HeatherDeKeyser.jpg\" alt=\"A photo of a woman pointing to an X-ray.\" class=\"wp-image-1865197\" srcset=\"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/06\/HeatherDeKeyser.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/06\/HeatherDeKeyser.jpg?resize=150,100 150w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/06\/HeatherDeKeyser.jpg?resize=500,333 500w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/06\/HeatherDeKeyser.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/06\/HeatherDeKeyser.jpg?resize=770,513 770w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/06\/HeatherDeKeyser.jpg?resize=840,560 840w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/06\/HeatherDeKeyser.jpg?resize=570,380 570w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/06\/HeatherDeKeyser.jpg?resize=370,247 370w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/06\/HeatherDeKeyser.jpg?resize=270,180 270w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/06\/HeatherDeKeyser.jpg?resize=170,113 170w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/06\/HeatherDeKeyser.jpg?resize=100,67 100w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/06\/HeatherDeKeyser.jpg?resize=120,80 120w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/06\/HeatherDeKeyser.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/06\/HeatherDeKeyser.jpg?resize=200,134 200w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/06\/HeatherDeKeyser.jpg?resize=315,210 315w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/06\/HeatherDeKeyser.jpg?resize=630,420 630w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Heather De Keyser, a pediatric pulmonologist at Children\u2019s Hospital Colorado, points to the X-ray of a lung of a young adult damaged by vaping.<span class=\"photo-credit\">(John Daley\/Colorado Public Radio)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>It\u2019s no coincidence the vaping rates soared during the pandemic, according to several public health experts.<\/p>\n<p>For the past couple of years, undergraduates have talked about the challenges of isolation and using more substances, said Alyssa Wright, who manages early intervention health promotion programs at CU-Boulder.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJust being home, being bored, being a little bit anxious, not knowing what\u2019s happening in the world,\u201d Wright said. \u201cWe don\u2019t have that social connection, and it feels like people are still even trying to catch up from that experience.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Other factors driving addiction are the high nicotine levels in vaping devices, and \u201cstealth culture,\u201d said Chris Lord, CU-Boulder\u2019s associate director of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.colorado.edu\/recoverycommunity\/about\">Collegiate Recovery Center<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe products they were using had <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ucsf.edu\/news\/2020\/01\/416371\/juul-delivers-substantially-more-nicotine-previous-generation-e-cigs-and\">five times more nicotine<\/a> than previous vapes had,\u201d he said. \u201cSo getting hooked on that was \u2026 almost impossible to avoid.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>By \u201cstealth culture,\u201d Lord means that vaping is exciting, something forbidden and secret. \u201cAs an adolescent, our brains are kind of wired that way, a lot of us,\u201d Lord said.<\/p>\n<p>All over the U.S., state and local governments have filed suits against <a href=\"https:\/\/www.juul.com\/\">Juul Labs<\/a>, alleging the company misrepresented the health risks of its products.<\/p>\n<p>The lawsuits argued that Juul became a top e-cigarette company by aggressively marketing directly to kids, who then spread the word themselves by posting to social media sites like YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat vaping has done, getting high schoolers, in some cases even middle schoolers, hooked on vaping, is now playing out,\u201d said <a href=\"https:\/\/coag.gov\/\">Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Juul agreed to pay <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2023\/04\/12\/1169569278\/juul-is-paying-462-million-to-settle-yet-another-case\">hundreds of millions in settlements<\/a>. The company did not respond to requests for comment on this article.<\/p>\n<p>R.J. Reynolds, which <a href=\"https:\/\/journalnow.com\/news\/local\/business\/vuse-remains-top-us-e-cigarette-but-market-share-dips-slightly\/article_409008f0-5c99-11ee-a24e-4702b7a3dd61.html\">makes another popular vape brand<\/a>, Vuse, sent this statement: \u201cWe steer clear of youth enticing flavors, such as bubble gum and cotton candy, providing a stark juxtaposition to illicit disposable vapor products.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Other <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/media\/releases\/2023\/p0622-ecigarettes-sales.html\">big vape companies<\/a>, like Esco Bar, Elf Bar, Breeze Smoke, and Puff Bar, didn\u2019t respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf we lived in an ideal world, adults would reach the age of 24 without ever having experimented with adult substances. In reality, young adults experiment,\u201d said Greg Conley, director of legislative and external affairs with American Vapor Manufacturers. \u201cThis predates the advent of nicotine vaping.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2500\" height=\"1667\" src=\"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/06\/GettyImages-1241480845-resized.jpg\" alt=\"A photo of colorful disposable vapes shown inside a convenience store.\" class=\"wp-image-1865204\" srcset=\"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/06\/GettyImages-1241480845-resized.jpg 2500w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/06\/GettyImages-1241480845-resized.jpg?resize=150,100 150w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/06\/GettyImages-1241480845-resized.jpg?resize=500,333 500w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/06\/GettyImages-1241480845-resized.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/06\/GettyImages-1241480845-resized.jpg?resize=1270,847 1270w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/06\/GettyImages-1241480845-resized.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/06\/GettyImages-1241480845-resized.jpg?resize=2048,1366 2048w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/06\/GettyImages-1241480845-resized.jpg?resize=770,513 770w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/06\/GettyImages-1241480845-resized.jpg?resize=840,560 840w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/06\/GettyImages-1241480845-resized.jpg?resize=570,380 570w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/06\/GettyImages-1241480845-resized.jpg?resize=370,247 370w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/06\/GettyImages-1241480845-resized.jpg?resize=270,180 270w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/06\/GettyImages-1241480845-resized.jpg?resize=170,113 170w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/06\/GettyImages-1241480845-resized.jpg?resize=100,67 100w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/06\/GettyImages-1241480845-resized.jpg?resize=120,80 120w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/06\/GettyImages-1241480845-resized.jpg?resize=1170,780 1170w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/06\/GettyImages-1241480845-resized.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/06\/GettyImages-1241480845-resized.jpg?resize=200,134 200w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/06\/GettyImages-1241480845-resized.jpg?resize=315,210 315w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/06\/GettyImages-1241480845-resized.jpg?resize=630,420 630w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/06\/GettyImages-1241480845-resized.jpg?resize=1200,800 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Disposable vapes are displayed in a convenience store on June 23, 2022, in El Segundo, California.<span class=\"photo-credit\">(Patrick T. Fallon\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The FDA banned flavored vape cartridges in 2020 to crack down on marketing to minors, but the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/sections\/health-shots\/2023\/07\/14\/1186291971\/theyre-illegal-so-why-is-it-so-easy-to-buy-the-disposable-vapes-favored-by-teens\">products are still easy to find<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Joe Miklosi, a consultant to the Rocky Mountain Smoke-Free Alliance, a trade group for vape shops, contends the shops are not driving vaping rates among young adults in Colorado. \u201cWe keep demographic data in our 125 stores. Our average age [of customers] is 42,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>He has spoken with thousands of consumers who say vaping helped them quit smoking cigarettes, he said. Vape shops sell products to help adult smokers quit, Miklosi said.<\/p>\n<p>Colorado statistics belie that claim, according to longtime tobacco researcher <a href=\"https:\/\/ucsfhealthcardiology.ucsf.edu\/facstaff\/spotlight\/glantz\">Stanton Glantz<\/a>. The data is \u201ccompletely inconsistent with the argument that most e-cigarette use is adult smokers trying to use them to quit,\u201d said Glantz, the former director of the <a href=\"https:\/\/tobacco.ucsf.edu\/\">Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education<\/a> at the University of California-San Francisco.<\/p>\n<p>For recent college graduate G Kumar, now a rock climber, the impetus to quit vaping was more ecological than health-related. They said they were turned off by the amount of trash generated from used vape devices and the amount of money they were spending.<\/p>\n<p>Kumar got help from cessation literature and quitting aids from the university\u2019s health promotion program, including boxes of eucalyptus-flavored toothpicks, which tasted awful but provided a distraction and helped with oral cravings.<\/p>\n<p>It took a while and a lot of willpower to overcome the intense psychological cravings.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe fact that I could just gnaw on toothpicks for weeks on end was, I think, what kept me sane,\u201d Kumar said.<\/p>\n<p><em>This article is from a partnership that includes <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cpr.org\/news\/\">CPR News<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/\">NPR<\/a>, and KFF Health News.<\/em><\/p>\n<aside class=\"meta-authors meta\">\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"author-name\">John Daley, Colorado Public Radio: <\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/CODaleyNews\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t@CODaleyNews<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<section class=\"block--category-tag-list \">\n<div class=\"category-tag-list__content-wrapper\">\n<h3 class=\"block--category-tag-list__title\">\n\t\t\t\tRelated Topics\t\t\t<\/h3>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<a class=\"category-tag-list__contact-link\" href=\"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/contact-us\/\"><br \/>\n\t\t\tContact Us\t\t<\/a><br \/>\n\t\t<a class=\"category-tag-list__tip-link\" href=\"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/tips\/\"><br \/>\n\t\t\tSubmit a Story Tip\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/section><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>G Kumar\u2019s vaping addiction peaked in college at the University of Colorado, when flavored, disposable vapes were taking off. \u201cI\u2019d go through, let\u2019s say, 1,200 puffs in a week,\u201d Kumar said. Vaping became a crutch for them. Like losing a cellphone, losing a vape pen would set off a mad scramble. \u201cIt needs to be [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2911,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2910","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mental-health"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2910","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2910"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2910\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2912,"href":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2910\/revisions\/2912"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2911"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2910"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2910"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2910"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}