What to Know
- Nearly one in 11 U.S. middle and high school students have used e-cigarettes to smoke marijuana, a new study reveals
- Researchers say that 1 in 3 high schoolers, or roughly 1.7 million, and nearly 1 in 4 middle school students, or 425,000, used pot in e-cigs
- Sciencenews.org says the report has the most comprehensive nationwide estimates of use of marijuana in e-cigarettes among teens and preteens
Nearly one in 11 U.S. middle and high school students have used e-cigarettes to smoke marijuana, a new study reveals.
Sciencenews.orgs reports that a study published Monday in JAMA Pediatrics, estimates that nearly one in three high school students — roughly 1.7 million — and nearly one in four middle school students, or 425,000, have used pot in vaping devices, based on teens’ e-cigarette use in 2016.
Researchers say the study is the most comprehensive nationwide estimates of use of marijuana in e-cigarettes among teens and preteens.
Data used in the study derives from 20,675 sixth- to 12th-graders who participated in the 2016 National Youth Tobacco Survey, Sciencenews.org says, adding that among the tobacco products used by preteens and teens, the most popular are battery-powered devices that heat and vaporize liquids that usually contain nicotine.
However, the devices can also vaporize died marijuana leaves or buds, in addition to oils and waxes made from cannabis’ primary active ingredient, tetrahydrocannabinol — commonly referred to as THC.
“Shifts in social acceptability and access to cannabis could occur as several states consider legalized cannabis sales for adults. Given the high concurrent use of tobacco and other substances, it is important to monitor the substances youth use in e-cigarettes,” researchers involved in the study said.
Local
Nearly 12 percent of high school students and 3 percent of middle schoolers reported using e-cigarettes in 2017, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
