Despite FDA Warnings, Teen Vape Use Doubled in 2018

Teens! They just can’t stop vaping. Try and stop them. Seriously, try it. Good luck.

The AP reports that a federal-funded study conducted by the University of Michigan found that instead of smoking cigarettes or drinking alcohol, or using cocaine or heroin, twice as many teenagers have indulged in vaping in the last year than the year prior—significant if only because it is the “largest single-year increase in the survey’s 44-year history,” passing marijuana use in the 1970s. That’s a lot of Juuling, my friends.

Out of the 45,000 students in 8th, 10th and 12th grade that were polled, 1 in 5 high school students reported vaping nicotine in the last month. And it was indeed nicotine and not marijuana—only one in 17 high school students admitted to consuming weed daily.

The Michigan study follows Juul’s decision last month to remove all fruity flavors from retail stores in an attempt to curb the ongoing issue of nicotine addiction among nonsmoking teens. However, all the flavors the Food and Drug Administration believe are responsible for teen nicotine consumption will remain available online, and something tells me we’re all underestimating social media savvy kids’ ability to procure illicit substances on the internet. If anything, this’ll only stop the olds from buying their favorite flavors, right?

The survey also estimates that Juuling and other forms of teen vaping could lead to cigarette use in teens, but that hasn’t happened—probably because young people think smoking cigarettes is wack—and if it does actually happen somehow, the results won’t be seen until next year.