Worrying trend: e-cigarettes trigger nicotine consumption among young Americans

Nearly five million d & # 39; teens they consume tobacco products, especially electronic cigarettes, in the USA, an increasing number and with hues of epidemicaccording to a report from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

"The dramatic increase in electronic cigarette consumption among youth over the past year threatens to halt the progress made in reducing youth smoking," said Robert Redfield, Director of Youth. CDC, at a press conference.

In the opinion of Redfield, "This trend puts a new generation of people at risk for nicotine addiction."

The report revealed that in 2018 at least 4.9 million young people regularly used tobacco products, while in 2017, they were 3.6 million.

The vast majority (4.04 million) of consumers in 2018 were studying in upper secondary education (high school) and 840,000 at the college (middle School), that is to say, they were between 11 and 13 years old and between 14 and 18 years old.

The study found that more than one in four students aged 11 to 13 years old and about one in 14 14-to-14 year old students had consumed a tobacco-derived product in the last 30 days.

After badyzing the latest figures, the researchers found that the consumption of tobacco products 38.3% increase among high school students between 2017 and 2018, an increase that contrasts with what happened in previous years and which they believe was mainly due to increased use of electronic cigarettes.

"Despite this worrying trendwe already know what works and we have a duty to continue using Proven efficiency strategies to protect young Americans at risk from this preventable health problem, "said Redfield.

The research found that the use of electronic cigarettes increased from 11.7% to 20.8% among students aged 11 to 13 and 3.3% to 4.9% among 14 to 18 year olds . 2017 to 2018

Other tobacco products, including cigarettes, they did not record a significant change during this period, according to the report.

The authorities have expressed concern about the increased consumption of electronic cigarettes, the tobacco product most commonly used or used by men, whites and upper secondary students.

"We fear that this trend will continue in 2019 and that is why we are forced to make difficult decisions Regarding the regulation on electronic cigarettes, "said Scott Gottlieb, Commissioner of the Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) at the press conference.

Electronic cigarettes (20.8%) were the largest tobacco product used by high school students in 2018, followed by traditional cigarettes (8.1%), cigars (7.6%) and smokeless tobacco ( 5). , 9%), narghile (4.1%) and tobacco pipes (1.1%).

The consumption of tobacco products among students was higher among men than womenand badyzed by ethnic groups, Whites were the group with the highest percentage of consumers (32.4%), followed by Hispanics (21.7%) and African Americans (17.4%).

According to the report, JUUL is currently the best-selling electronic cigarette in the United States among young people, largely because it looks like a USB key and is easy to hide and use in schools.

This device uses cartridges or loads of liquid nicotine called capsules, which have an appealing taste for children and contain as much nicotine as a pack of cigarettes.

In addition to JUUL, other commonly used electronic cigarettes are Vuse, MarkTen XL, Blu and Logic.

The FDA recently called it "epidemic proportion"The use of electronic cigarettes among teens in the United States.

The CDC recommends taking additional measures to limit nicotine consumption in young people and prevent them from becoming addicted to this substance.

For this, they ask the federal authorities increase minimum age for the purchase of tobacco products for 21 years and prohibit the sale of tobacco products with attractive flavors for minors.

In addition, health authorities recommend that schools guarantee a smoke-free campus that includes electronic cigarettes.

According to the CDC, smoking is the leading cause of preventable diseases and deaths in the United States.