If you or someone you know is trying to quit, text “VAPEFREETX” to 88709.
As another school year kicks off, attentions turn to another increasingly urgent issue affecting students: the rise of vaping among minors. Studies show a significant uptick in the number of young people using e-cigarettes, with many starting as early as middle school.
Vaping devices have become alarmingly accessible, often marketed in ways that appeal to teenagers. The health risks are substantial, with potential impacts on developing brains and overall well-being. Schools are grappling with the challenge of addressing this behavior on campus.
Jennifer Cofer is the executive director of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center’s EndTobacco Program. She joined Texas Standard to discuss the dangers of vaping and how students are the target audience. Listen to the interview above or read the transcript below.
This transcript has been edited lightly for clarity:
What trends have you observed regarding vaping among minors in schools, and is it really vaping that’s the primary issue? No longer traditional cigarettes among kids?
We actually, on surveys, ask kids about all tobacco product use. So we are seeing a use among sixth to 12th graders who are surveyed, and they’re answering “yes” on the survey that they have used some type of tobacco product in the last month.
We are seeing that e-cigarettes are still in higher use than traditional cigarettes, but we’re also seeing smokeless and/or hookah and/or other tobacco products being used.
Yes, e-cigarettes are the most commonly used product when it comes to our sixth to 12th graders.
Not all e-cigarettes contain tobacco. I mentioned a few, but what are the primary risks associated with vaping for minors?
So yes, we talk about e-cigarettes in the category of tobacco products because that’s where they originated from, with nicotine being the main ingredient in about 98% of e-cigarettes that are in the marketplace today.
We can see nicotine impacting youth, and adolescent brain development is the first and foremost concern. Some use the phrase “nicotine is brain poison.” We know nicotine is addictive. It’s been the addictive ingredient in cigarettes since they were created about 100 years ago.
The brain develops until 25 years old, and using nicotine during adolescent development can harm parts of the brain. What’s most important to know is that that part of the brain that it impacts controls attention and learning and mood regulation and impulse control – all the things we really want our middle school and high schoolers to develop and have control over and learn.
And especially being in school, the attention and the mood regulation – impulse control drives behavior change, right? So we want to make sure we are keeping our kids from never picking up an e-cigarette, which again is impacting brain development.
Well, I mentioned that a lot of the marketing seems to be targeted towards teenagers and it definitely appeals to them – the colors, the flavors. What strategies are effective in preventing minors from starting to vape?
The industry has used different influencers on social media to promote their products to them, not marketing specifically on social media themselves. They’re using people and product placement through those people as influencers.
And in fact, one of the original culprits of the e-cigarette epidemic, Juul, was found guilty of that right at federal level and in lawsuits about using influencers to gain new users and specifically knew that it was being targeted to young adults and youth.
What’s attracting them are the flavors. One of our best quotes says “flavors draw them in. Nicotine keeps them coming back.” The flavors are ingredients added into those products, and they’re the flavors that are fun-labeled. They’re called cereal names. They’re called “Unicorn Vomit.” So what kid doesn’t want to be exposed to these sparkly looking devices with a Froot Loops flavor?
So that’s what’s drawing them in. But they don’t know the dosing of nicotine that is hitting their body, their lungs, their cardiovascular system, and their brain.
I wonder if the accessibility of vaping makes it a bigger challenge for schools to handle as far as tracking and disciplinary behavior. Have you heard anything about that?
We do monitor what we call “plant sales.” Where are they getting these products? Are they buying them, themselves at retail locations or the vape shop, or are they getting them from older siblings, or friends? Or are they ordering them through a delivery service like Favor or Amazon?
So yes, there are people that are tracking point-of-sales and we are concerned about the amount students are, I wouldn’t say getting in trouble, but they’re getting caught for possession and use during the school day and being sent to the [Disciplinary Education Alternative] DAEP program.
That is something our public health advocates are going to the Legislature this January to try to help address the addiction – not just the punitive approach in which they are caught and then you punish them. They need help and intervention.
So are there good resources available for students who maybe have started on this and are trying to quit vaping?
Absolutely. One of the most accessible ways to quit is to text a program called “This is Quitting” for any youth or young adult. So, say, 13 to 24-year-olds who are vaping and want to talk to someone about quitting can text “VAPEFREETX” to the number 88709.
It is a free, confidential, 24/7 support texting program. This is meant for anyone who is interested in quitting, or just wants to talk about how they can think about quitting, or just wants to get some information and help on “what do I do to cut back?” “What other resources are there to help me out during this transition?” “How do I know if I’m really addicted?” This is what the texting program is about.
There have been many publications in the literature about the effectiveness of this program to help youth and young adults become astronauts, and quit using e-cigarettes at the end of the program. So we’re very excited. This is available in both English and Spanish. It is free.
