Prompted by an unprecedented spike in the use of e-cigarettes among teens, the US surgeon general issued a call to action for parents, teachers and health professionals about the negative health consequences of e-cigarettes at a news conference Tuesday.
Currently, 1 in 5 high school students uses e-cigarettes, Dr. Jerome Adams said.
"Our youth today recognize that cigarettes are not cool and not safe," Adams said. However, they mistakenly believe e-cigarettes are "cool" and "safe," he added.
The percentage of high school-age children reporting past 30-day use of e-cigarettes rose by more than 75% between 2017 and 2018, while use among middle school-age kids increased nearly 50%, the National Youth Tobacco Survey showed. Meanwhile, the National Institutes of Health's Monitoring the Future survey, released Monday, recorded a single year surge with more than 37% of 12th graders reporting use in the past year compared to nearly 28% in 2017.
The skyrocketing rise in e-cigarettes comes at a time when there are "encouraging signs elsewhere" -- namely, the fact that alcohol use, tobacco use and opioid use among youth have declined, Azar said.
No comments:
Post a Comment