Watertown Daily Times | 2 million young Americans use cannabis in electronic cigarettes, study finds



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Another sign that the use of the electronic cigarette affects the behavior of young Americans.

Nearly 1 in 11 high school and high school students reported using cannabis while vaping, a study conducted by epidemiologists from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This number translates to about 2 million young people. The study was published Monday in the journal JAMA Pediatrics.

The results were derived from the 2016 National Survey of Youth Smoking, which asked 20,675 students in Grades 6 to 12 of public and private schools to have ever used an electronic device containing a substance other than nicotine. . , a product that concentrates the hallucinogenic chemical in marijuana.

Researchers have found that among students who already use e-cigarettes, one in three students and one in four students reported using cannabis while vaping.

According to Katrina Trivers, lead author of the study and epidemiologist in CDC's Division of Cancer Prevention and Control, cannabis use in electronic cigarettes was much higher among men and those who had previously used cannabis. Electronic cigarettes.

The findings of the study reinforce the importance of reducing all forms of electronic cigarette use, Trivers said.

The findings are consistent with other studies on marijuana and vaping, reported the study's authors.

Terri Randall, a psychiatrist at Children's Hospital in Philadelphia, said the highest numbers are surprising, but not the teenagers who use marijuana.

"Young people feel that the use of electronic cigarettes is safer than regular cigarettes and less harmful with marijuana," she said.

But the National Academy of Sciences found that cannabis use among young people could have a negative impact on learning and memory, probably because their brains were still developing.

And it's easier to hide the use of marijuana when it is sprayed rather than smoked. Marijuana emits the same type of vapor as nicotine fluid and does not smell as strongly as when burned.

"It allows them to use marijuana without worry," she said.

Last week, Scott Gottlieb, the commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration, described the young people as epidemics. He ordered electronic cigarette manufacturers – including Juul, Vuse, Blu, MarkTen XL and Logic – to show how they would limit sales of electronic cigarettes to minors or risk losing their products. The agency criticized the manufacturers' use of fruit and candy flavors that appeal to children, but failed to ban them, as some health advocates demanded.

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