With easy e-cig access, teen vaping soars
Nearly every state bans sales of vape products to minors, yet kids can readily buy them online
By Janet Raloff
In 2013, nearly three times as many U.S. high school students smoked cigarettes as vaped electronic cigarettes. By 2015, the trend reversed. Nearly twice as many vaped as smoked, a new study finds. For middle school students, the preference for vaping over smoking cigarettes was even stronger (2.3-fold).
Federal researchers analyzed data from the National Youth Tobacco Survey and found that some 2.39 million U.S. high school kids vaped in 2015. Fewer high schoolers, about 1.37 million, smoked cigarettes, the researchers report in the April 15 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.