Electronic Vapor Product Use - Youth in Kentucky

Kentucky

Electronic vapor products (also known as e-cigarettes, vapes or vape pens) have remained the most commonly used tobacco product among youth since 2014. Electronic vapor products are electronic devices that use heat to make an aerosol that the user inhales. They are typically used to deliver either tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active component of marijuana, or nicotine, the addictive compound found in tobacco. The aerosol made by e-cigarettes contains toxic substances that can cause cancer and lung disease. Nicotine affects brain development in children and adolescents. Use of electronic vapor products among adolescents has also been linked to an increased risk of cardiopulmonary (heart and lung) issues. Multiple studies have found that using e-cigarettes in adolescence is a strong predictor of subsequent cigarette use. 

E-cigarettes pose other risks to children, teens and young adults. Both children and adults have been poisoned by coming into contact with e-cigarette liquid. Defective e-cigarette batteries have also caused fires and explosions.

According to data from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, the prevalence of current electronic vapor product use is higher among:

• Female high school students compared with male students.
• American Indian/Alaska Native, white, multiracial, Hispanic and Black high school students compared with Asian students. 
• Bisexual, gay, lesbian and other/questioning high school students compared with heterosexual students.

Parental behaviors influence youth e-cigarette use prevention and reduction. Strategies from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) include:

• Setting an example for youth by being tobacco-free. 
• Prohibiting the use of tobacco products at home and in vehicles.
• Ensuring children’s schools, colleges and universities are tobacco-free.
• Talking to health care providers about the health risks of e-cigarette use. 
• Holding conversations with young people focusing on the health risks of e-cigarette use.

At the policy level, the CDC recommends the following actions for addressing e-cigarette use in youth:

• Increasing the price of e-cigarettes and other tobacco products.
• Implementing smoke-free policies for public spaces.
• Requiring tobacco retailers to have a license to sell.
• Prohibiting the sale of flavored tobacco products.

Schools should enforce tobacco-free campus policies and provide resources to help students quit smoking. The American Lung Association also designed an evidence-based cessation program for teenagers called Not On Tobacco (N-O-T). Trained facilitators deliver the N-O-T curriculum to small groups in schools or community-based settings.

Healthy People 2030 has a goal to reduce current e-cigarette use in adolescents.

Castro, Emily M., Shahrdad Lotfipour, and Frances M. Leslie. “Nicotine on the Developing Brain.” Pharmacological Research 190 (April 2023): 106716. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.phrs.2023.106716.

Jamal, Ahmed, Eunice Park-Lee, Jan Birdsey, Andrenita West, Monica Cornelius, Maria R. Cooper, Hannah Cowan, et al. “Tobacco Product Use Among Middle and High School Students — National Youth Tobacco Survey, United States, 2024.” MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 73, no. 41 (October 17, 2024): 917–24. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7341a2.

McKenna, Lawrence A., Jr. Electronic Cigarette Fires and Explosions in the United States 2009 - 2016. USFA Topical Fire Report Series. United States Fire Administration, FEMA, July 2017. https://www.usfa.fema.gov/downloads/pdf/publications/electronic_cigarettes.pdf.

O’Brien, Doireann, Jean Long, Joan Quigley, Caitriona Lee, Anne McCarthy, and Paul Kavanagh. “Association between Electronic Cigarette Use and Tobacco Cigarette Smoking Initiation in Adolescents: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.” BMC Public Health 21, no. 1 (December 2021): 954. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-10935-1.

Wold, Loren E., Robert Tarran, Laura E. Crotty Alexander, Naomi M. Hamburg, Farrah Kheradmand, Gideon St. Helen, Joseph C. Wu, and on behalf of the American Heart Association Council on Basic Cardiovascular Sciences; Council on Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology; Council on Hypertension; and Stroke Council. “Cardiopulmonary Consequences of Vaping in Adolescents: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association.” Circulation Research 131, no. 3 (July 22, 2022): e70–82. https://doi.org/10.1161/RES.0000000000000544.