As health advocates seek stronger action to stop what has been called an “epidemic” of electronic cigarette use among teens, new research has been showing that stricter restrictions on sales to children can make an impact.
But that impact isn’t enough without further action from the governments, advocates say.
A new study found that teenagers were less likely to try e-cigarettes or traditional cigarettes if they lived in cities with stricter limits on retail sales of such products — and were even more less likely to become regular users.
It seems logical that making it harder to obtain tobacco products means fewer people using them. But the rapid rise in teen “vaping” shows that the need for action ends beyond licensing, fining, and monitoring retail shops, experts said.
The number of high school seniors who used an e-cigarette jumped from 28 percent in 2017 to 37 percent last year, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
That’s the latest in a string of findings that vaping is increasing quickly among teens, 2 million of whom are using e-cigarettes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
That vaping by teens whose brains are still developing can lead to nicotine addiction, lung disease, and exposure to toxic chemicals, according to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
“Access restrictions and age restrictions are clearly important and necessary,” Dennis Henigan, vice president for legal and regulatory affairs at the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, told Healthline. “But given the degree and breadth of the epidemic I don’t think they’re enough.”