How Do Underage Children Obtain Electronic Cigarettes?

A large multinational meta-analysis study shows that most children and teens under the age of 21 obtain vaping equipment, VE, from peers or siblings. New Zealand researchers reviewed 17 studies covering approximately 30,000 young people from the United States, Canada, the UK, and Australia. Fourteen of the 17 studies were conducted in the US, and all were published in peer-reviewed journals.

The single most prevalent source of VE was a “friend” in about 59% of those vaping for the first time or most recently and in 52% of those current or consistent users. Nearly two-thirds of underage vapers did so by borrowing a device. A friend was the source in 81% of cases, siblings loaned in 9.5%, and fewer than 5% borrowed VE from parents or adult relatives. One in four enlisted someone else to buy the device for them from a vape shop, convenience store, or online.

Despite minimum age laws in the US and other countries, those under 18 to 21 continue to obtain VE. Now, in some cases, the users begin vaping to quit tobacco smoking, and that is beneficial. In many cases, though, the young users vape to look cool or succumb to peer pressure. In doing so, they expose themselves to high and addicting doses of nicotine as well as to toxic organic fumes from flavorings and solvents that serve to damage their lungs irreversibly.

https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-023-16755-9

#vaping #electroniccigarettes #underage #nicotine #addiction #tobacco #adolescence