The Effects and Implications of Vaping on the Youth Population

Youth today have adopted the “cessation tool” known as the e-cigarette as a form of recreational activity. An examination of the history of tobacco use and prevention enables a fuller understanding of the problem presented by this product. Youth around the country are addicted to the sensation of vaping and are largely unaware of the associated health dangers. To address this growing issue among adolescents, vaping and its impact on the youth population should be carefully examined by health professionals. Although an overall solution has not yet been determined, there are several ways to impede the spread of the vaping epidemic from a public health standpoint

Electronic Cigarette Use and Associated Risk Factors in U.S.-Dwelling Pacific Islander Young Adults.

Background: E-cigarette use is rapidly increasing among US young adults, heightening their risk for vaping-related illnesses. Yet, little is known about e-cigarette use among young adult Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders (NHPI): an indigenous-colonized US racial group rarely described in research literature. This exploratory study provides the first known data on e-cigarette use and potential risk factors in NHPI young adults. Method: Self-report data were collected from 143 NHPI young adults (age 18-30 years) living in two large NHPI communities: Samoans in urban Los Angeles County and Marshallese in rural Arkansas. We assessed rates of e-cigarette, cigarette, alcohol, and marijuana use, and positive and negative outcome expectancies from e-cigarettes, that is expected outcomes from e-cigarette use. To identify potential risk factors for NHPI e-cigarette use, regressions explored associations between participants' current e-cigarette use with current cigarette, alcohol, and marijuana use, and e-cigarette outcome expectancies. Results: Among NHPI young adults, lifetime e-cigarette use rate was 53% and current use rate was 39%. Current rate of dual e-cigarette/cigarette, e-cigarette/alcohol, and e-cigarette/marijuana use was 38%, 35%, and 25%, respectively. In our regression models, current marijuana use and positive e-cigarette outcome expectancies were significantly associated with current e-cigarette use. Conclusions: E-cigarette use is common among NHPI young adults, exceeding rates for other at-risk racial groups. Marijuana use and positive expectations about e-cigarette use may represent potential e-cigarette use risk factors. Collectively, findings underscore the need for additional research to further explore the scope of, and risk and protective factors for, e-cigarette use in this understudied high-risk population

'Maybe they should regulate them quite strictly until they know the true dangers': A focus group study exploring UK adolescents’ views on e-cigarette regulation

Background and aims: Regulation of electronic cigarettes has moved to the top of the addiction policy agenda, as demonstrated by the recent focus across the UK on introducing age of sale restrictions. Yet, the views of those affected by such regulation remain largely unexplored. This paper presents the first detailed qualitative exploration of adolescents’ perceptions of existing, and opinions about potential, e-cigarette regulation. Methods: 16 focus groups, including a total of 83 teenagers between the ages of 14 and 17, were conducted in deprived, mixed and affluent urban areas in Scotland and England between November 2014 and February 2015. Transcripts were imported into Nivivo 10, thematically coded and analysed. Results: Participants critically considered existing evidence and competing interests in regulatory debates and demonstrated sophisticated understandings of the advantages and disadvantages of regulation. They overwhelmingly supported strong e-cigarette regulation and endorsed restrictions on sales to minors, marketing and e-cigarette use in public places. Concern about potential health harms of e-cigarette use and marketing increasing the acceptability of vaping and smoking led these adolescents to support regulation. Conclusions: In focus group discussions, a sample of UK adolescents exposed to particular communications about e-cigarettes supported strict regulation of e-cigarettes, including banning sales to minors and use in indoor public areas

Light me up: power and expertise in risk communication and policy-making in the e-cigarette health debates

This paper presents a detailed account of policy-making in a contemporary risk communication arena, where strong power dynamics are at play that have hitherto lacked theoretical analysis and empirical validation. Specifically, it expands on the understanding of how public health policy decisions are made when there is a weak evidential base and where multiple interpretations, power dynamics and values are brought to bear on issues of risk and uncertainty. The aim of the paper is to understand the role that power and expertise play in shaping public health risk communication within policy-related debates. By drawing on insight from a range of literatures, the paper argues that there several interacting factors that shape how a particular narrative gains prominence within a wider set of perspectives and how the arguments and findings associated with that perspective become amplified within the context of policy choices. These findings are conceptualised into a new model – a policy evaluation risk communication (PERC) framework – and are then tested using the Electronic cigarette debate as a case study

Educating High School Students on the Negative Health Effects of Vaping

E-cigarettes surpassed conventional cigarettes in 2014 to become the most commonly used tobacco product among youth. Vaping exposes users to multiple toxins that have been shown to cause asthma and other lung diseases, heart disease, neurologic problems, and cancer. The goal of this project was to provide educators at Londonderry and Bishop Guertin High School, and physicians at Primary Care of Hudson, with evidence based information on the harmful effects vaping has on adolescents. The information was given in the form of a pamphlet that was designed to appeal to teens and written at a level they would understand.https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/fmclerk/1446/thumbnail.jp

Vaping Prevalence on College Campuses

Vaping Prevalence on College Campuses Purpose and Background/Significance: The college-aged demographic is especially at risk for adverse effects surrounding usage of electronic vaping devices given the deficit in published research regarding the use of vaping products (Kenne, Fishbein, Tan, & Banks, 2017). Vaping rates in college students have more than doubled between 2017 – 2018 (vaping nicotine from 6% to 16%; and marijuana 5% to 11%); the greatest one-year increase for any substance since 1975 (Monitoring the Future, 2019). The objectives of this qualitative study are to assess attitudes and beliefs about the use of electronic vaping devices held by college students and to better understand the use despite adverse health effects. Method: 800 undergraduate students were invited to participate in an online survey conducted through Survey Monkey. Data were collected and analyzed in order to further understand relationships and opinions existing between college students and the use of electronic vaping devices. Results: Of the 800 students that received the email to participate, 487 responded (60.87% response rate). When asked if the participants used an electronic vaping device in the last thirty days, 17.85% responded “yes”. All questions following this item were directed towards those participants who responded “yes” to vaping in the last thirty days. Future Research: Future research will include focus groups which will allow in-depth analysis of the attitudes, thoughts, and beliefs held by current undergraduate students. Information is being collected as a means to implement health promotion interventions on campus to decrease usage of electric vaping devices