Nicotine is highly addictive and can harm adolescent brain development, which continues into the early to mid-20s.
About 1 in 5 high school students vape, exposing them to nicotine, a highly addictive substance found in tobacco. Nicotine can harm adolescent brain development, which continues into the early to mid-20s. Vaping is likely to keep young people hooked for years; youth often start with vaping and graduate to cigarettes later.
In 2019, 48.91% of York County Youth reported that they used an electronic vaping product within the last year that contained nicotine, 48.87% reported using just flavoring, 26.93% reported using marijuana or hash oil, and 17.94% reported they did not know what as in their electronic vaping product. 16.22% of youth reported using a vaping product within the past 30 days and 9.05% reported smoking cigarettes in the past 30 days.
Source: Pennsylvania Youth Survey. Pennsylvania Center on Crime and Delinquency. Accessed March 9, 2022.
Resources
Guide for Parents
VAPING: What Families Need to Know to Help Protect Children, Teens and Young Adults – PDF download from Partnership to End Addiction
Vaping and E-Cigarettes Drug Guide
https://drugfree.org/drugs/e-cigarettes-vaping/
Tobacco and Nicotine Drug Guide
https://drugfree.org/drugs/tobacco-nicotine/
Talking With Your Teen About Vaping
https://www.samhsa.gov/sites/default/files/TTHY-Vaping-Broch-2020.pdf – PDF download from SAMHSA.gov
PAStart Substance Use and Behavioral Toolkit – Vaping Toolkit
https://pastart.org/families-communities/family-toolkits/cas-toolkit-vaping/