Vaping tied to higher risk that teens will try marijuana (Reuters Health) – Teens who use e-cigarettes may be twice as likely to smoke pot as their peers who never try vaping, a U.S. study suggests.
The results, from surveys of more than 10,000 youth ages 12 to 17, add to earlier evidence suggesting that e-cigarettes may be a gateway to smoking tobacco and experimenting with drugs. In the current study, younger teens aged 12 to 14 were 2.7 times more likely to smoke pot once they tried vaping, while the odds of marijuana use were 1.6 times higher for older adolescents who used e-cigarettes.
E-Cigs Are Risky–Whatever They Look Like (NIDA Blog Team May, 2018)
You may have heard of JUUL. It’s one brand of e-cigarette that has gotten very popular lately–so popular that the term “JUULing” is becoming common. While we usually don’t discuss brand names on the blog, some experts think the name “JUUL” might become like “Kleenex” or “Xerox”; these brands became so popular that people often use those names instead of “tissue” or “copy.”
Quitting–or starting? The company that makes JUUL says they designed the device for adults who are trying to quit smoking regular cigarettes; the company has educational programs for teens about waiting until they’re adults to use these devices. But JUUL is still being used by teens, who think teachers and other adults won’t notice because the JUUL doesn’t look like a regular e-cig.
A JUUL is a small, rectangular, box-shaped device that looks more like a flash drive than a cigarette. Like most e-cigs, they come in flavors that appeal to young people.
For more https://teens.drugabuse.gov/blog/post/e-cigs-are-risky-whatever-they-look-like