According to one study, 1 in 3 teens breathe in electronic cigarette vapors from time to time



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Last year, about 1 in 3 students reported inhaling a used aerosol from electronic cigarettes, up from about 1 in 4 who reported exposure in recent years. , according to a study published in Wednesday's medical journal JAMA Network Open. .
The research was based on self-reported data from the National Youth Tobacco Survey, which had collected information on exposure to second-hand smoke from tobacco products and aerosols from occasional cigarettes in high school and high school students from 2015 to 2018.

During the survey, exposure was defined as the inhalation of second-hand smoke or secondary vapor in indoor or outdoor public places at least one day in the past 30 days. These public places may include schools, shops, restaurants, sports arenas, car parks, stadiums or parks, for example.

The data showed that between 2015 and 2018, about half of the students reported being exposed to second-hand smoke, but this prevalence has trended downward.

Exposure to second-hand smoke reached 52.6% of students in 2015, up from 48.7% last year, according to the data.

At the same time, the data showed that exposure reached 25.2% of students in 2015, rising from 33.2% last year to a higher prevalence.

Last year's data showed that young women, whites, those who had ever used electronic cigarettes or tobacco, and those who lived with someone who used electronic cigarettes were more likely to be exposed to smoke. and used steam.

New second-hand smoke: Adults are more likely to vape if they live with children, study finds
The researchers noted that although "about 16 states and more than 800 municipalities have passed laws restricting the use of 100% smoke-free e-cigarettes or in other places, including schools, at the same time. In recent years, "a growing proportion of young people in the United States have reported exposure to second-hand fumes in public places.

"This may be due to the increase in the number of young people using electronic cigarettes and other pod-based devices, unless there are no no-go policies other than smoke-free policies, and fewer people who are willing to s & # 39; 39; express against other vapotant in public places "the researchers wrote.

In general, it is estimated that nearly one in five high school students and one in 20 high school students use electronic cigarettes, according to the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The number of middle and high school students using electronic cigarettes has increased from 2.1 million in 2017 to 3.6 million last year, a difference of about 1.5 million. youth.
The new research is not a surprise, as there has been an overall increase in the use of electronic cigarettes in the United States in recent years and a decrease in smoking, said Dr. Theodore Wagener, director of the Center for Tobacco Research and co-leader. the cancer program at Ohio State University's Comprehensive Cancer Center in Columbus, which did not participate in the new research.

Yet, the potential health effects of increasing exposure to electronic cigarette vapors remain an enigma and have become a field of active study.

"We still do not know the long-term effects on health and most people generally think that they are safer than smoking, so they are not too afraid to expose others to steam." second hand, "said Wagener.

Wagener and his colleagues recently completed a study – currently under review and not yet published – comparing levels of exposure to nicotine and some carcinogens in children who lived with non-smokers, only smokers of electronic cigarettes or only cigarette smokers. .

With regard to children who live only with electronic cigarette users, "we clearly know that they are exposed to many of these toxic tobacco substances that we have seen with cigarettes, but that seems to be just at lower levels, "said Wagener.

"What this means for downstream health, we still do not know, I would like to know," he said.

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