A Plus From the Pandemic: Fewer Kids Using E-Cigarettes

*The following is excerpted from an online article posted on HealthDay.

There appears to be a silver lining to forced school and business closures during the early weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new study: Fewer kids used e-cigarettes.

Compared to the previous quarter, vaping rates fell among 15- to 20-year-olds while widespread stay-at-home orders were in place from March 14 to June 29, 2020, according to an online survey of more than 5,750 teens and young adults.

The main reason for the decline? There was an apparent lack of access to e-cigarettes and other vaping supplies, according to the researchers. Shops were closed or had limited hours, and there weren’t parties or after-school hangout sessions where kids could share e-cigarettes.

While this is good news, it’s too soon to celebrate just yet.

Once the United States opens up further, so too will access to e-cigarettes for youth, said study co-author Elizabeth Hair, senior vice president of the Truth Initiative.

“We are concerned that we will see an uptick, and we are monitoring it, especially as kids go back to school and the new normal,” she said.

The study was recently published in the American Journal of Public Health.

Source: HealthDay
https://consumer.healthday.com/4-22-one-pandemic-silver-lining-fewer-kids-using-e-cigarettes-2652633135.html