E-Cigarette Use Down Among Kids In Indiana

This year’s Indiana Youth Survey shows that the number of Indiana middle school and high school students using electronic cigarettes, or e-cigarettes, dropped in the last year.

This was the second year in which the Indiana Youth Survey asked participants about their use of electronic vapor products, like e-cigarettes.

E-cigarette use among children between grades seven and twelve dropped across the board. The biggest decrease was among twelfth graders, dropping from nearly 25 percent last year, to 21.6 percent this year.

The decline comes a year after state legislators passed a bill that tightened restrictions of e-cigarettes and related products. As of July 1, it is against Indiana law to buy any e-cigarette products under the age of 18.

Despite the statewide decline, Allen County Health Commissioner Dr. Deb McMahan says 21 percent of twelfth graders using e-cigarettes is still a concern.

She cites a study, saying “young people who begin using e-cigarettes by the time they start ninth grade are more likely than others to begin smoking traditional cigarettes within the next year.”

McMahan adds, "Studies have shown that the more money that is spend advertising e-cigarettes the more youth begin using them, and seven out of ten students are exposed to e-cigarette ads from at least one course (retail, internet, TV or magazines). This problem is not going away anytime soon…
Resource :http://wboi.org/post/e-cigarette-use-down-among-kids-indiana