ATLANTA — Watches, pens, and USB cartridges are just some of the ways teenagers are concealing vaping devices and there’s more evidence teenagers are getting hooked.
A recent University of Georgia survey of Georgia teenagers revealed nearly 1 in 5 high school students said they’ve used a vaping product.
But many people who work with drug prevention say it starts much younger than that.
“I think the youngest that we’ve had overall since I’ve been involved is seven. We’ve had a 7-year-old,” said Rebecca Kishlock, Director of Tobacco Cessation and Education Programs for Breath PA.
That’s what school districts across the United States are up against. Some have even created diversion programs for students who are caught.
Doctor Christina Proctor is with the UGA’s College of Public Health. She studies teen substance abuse.
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“There’s concern about brain development in chronic use,” Proctor told Channel 2′s Linda Stouffer. “It is a powerful, psychoactive substance that is highly addictive.”
Kids are not just vaping nicotine. According to a 2022 study in “JAMA Pediatrics,” teen vaping of marijuana doubled between 2013 and 2020.
Susan Stover is a deputy director of juvenile court services just outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
The devices kids are using to get high have changed over time from bongs to more discreet weed pens.
But another big change is the potency, and it is highly addictive.
“The average marijuana leaf or bud that people would smoke in the 90s was maybe 4% THC level. Today the marijuana in vapes can be up to 95% THC levels. And that’s why you see kids who are overdosing and having seizures or having medical issues,” Stover said.
“We still don’t know a lot about what the chemicals added to the vaping products can do to the body,” Proctor said.
Those chemicals mentioned include formaldehyde, lead, arsenic, and flavoring chemicals that are connected to lung disease. Doctors say most children prefer sweet-flavored vapes.
So, catching fruit-like or candy smells could be evidence of vaping.
Vaping also makes users’ mouths dry. So, if your child is drinking more water than usual, that too could be a sign.
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