Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Unprecedented Increase In Teens' Vaping Habits Has Health Experts Worried Even As Other Drug Use Decreases
The Associated Press: Most Teen Drug Use Is Down, But Officials Fret Vaping Boom
Twice as many high school students used nicotine-tinged electronic cigarettes this year compared with last year, an unprecedented jump in a large annual survey of teen smoking, drinking and drug use. It was the largest single-year increase in the survey's 44-year history, far surpassing a mid-1970s surge in marijuana smoking. (12/17)
Los Angeles Times: More Than 1.3 Million High School Students Started Vaping Nicotine In The Past Year, Study Says
The proportion of U.S. high school seniors who are vaping tobacco products nearly doubled in the past year, with more than 1 in 5 now saying they have vaped to get a hit of nicotine in the past 30 days, according to a new study. The prevalence of nicotine vaping nearly doubled among 10th-graders as well, with nearly 1 in 6 using the electronic devices, researchers reported Monday in the New England Journal of Medicine. (Kaplan, 12/17)
NPR: 1 In 5 High School Seniors Is Vaping
"It is very worrisome," says Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, which funds the survey. "We are very concerned about the increase in vaping." The proportion of high school seniors who reported vaping nicotine in the last month rose to 20.9 percent in 2018, a nearly 10-percentage-point increase from 11 percent in 2017, according to results released Monday. (Stein, 12/17)
