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A school survey shows that nearly one in 11 American students have used marijuana in electronic cigarettes, which raises health concerns about the new popularity of teen smoking.
Electronic cigarettes usually contain nicotine, but many battery-powered devices can spray other substances, including marijuana. The results released Monday mean that 2.1 million high school and college students have used them to climb.
Spraying is generally considered less dangerous than smoking because burning tobacco or marijuana generates chemicals that are harmful to the lungs. But there is little research on the long-term effects of e-cigarettes, including the fact that they help smokers quit.
The increase in the number of teens using e-cigarettes has alarmed health officials who worry children who will become addicted to nicotine, a stimulant, and who will be more inclined to try cigarettes. Last week, the Food and Drug Administration granted the five largest electronic cigarette manufacturers 60 days to develop plans to end the minor use of their products.
According to a report published Monday in the journal JAMA Pediatrics, nearly 9% of students surveyed in 2016 said they used an electronic cigarette device containing marijuana. This included one-third of those who had already consumed electronic cigarettes.
The number is worrisome "because youth cannabis use can have negative effects on learning and memory and can adversely affect academic achievement and education," said lead researcher Katrina Trivers of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Students who reported living with a tobacco user were more likely than others to report using marijuana.
It is unclear whether marijuana use increases in adolescents or is stable. Appliances have become a multi-billion industry, but they are relatively new.
In states where marijuana is legal, consumers can buy liquid cartridges containing THC, the chemical contained in marijuana that attracts people, that works with a number of devices. Juul, by far the most popular electronic cigarette device, does not offer marijuana pods, but users can reload the cartridges with cannabis oil.
It was the first time that a question about marijuana steam was asked as part of this survey, which uses a sample of nationally representative students in public schools and schools. private. More than 20,000 students responded to the survey in 2016.
Another survey by the University of Michigan in December yielded similar results when it first asked for information on marijuana. In this study, 8% of Grade 10 students reported having sprayed marijuana in the last year.
"The health risks of vaping are not only in vaping devices, but also in the social environment that goes with it," said Richard Miech, a researcher at the University of Michigan. Victimized children are more likely to make themselves known as drug users and to become friends with drug addicts, he added.
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