The Florida Alcohol and Drug Abuse Association, FADAA, issued a Substance Use Trend Alert regarding the high levels of vaping among youth. According to the data from Monitoring the Future Survey, past year nicotine vaping held steady from 2019 to 2020 at high rates among eighth, tenth, and twelfth graders across the U.S. Between 2017 and 2020, dramatic increases were observed among students in these grade levels as follows:
- 8th graders: 7.5% in 2017 to 16.6% in 2020
- 10th graders: 15.8% in 2017 to 30.7% in 2020
- 12th graders: 18.8% in 2017 to 34.5% in 2020
Increases were also observed for young adults aged 19 to 22. For those young adults in college, 22% reported past 30 day vaping in 2019 whereas only 6% reported past 30 day vaping in 2017. Similar increases observed among non college young adults with 18% reporting vaping within the past 30 days in 2019 compared to 8% in 2017.
These data are especially concerning for both teenagers and young adults as the brain continues to develop into the mid-20s and exposure to nicotine and the harmful chemicals associated with vaping can adversely affect their health and well-being.
Access the full alert with resources here.
