LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The Southern Nevada Well being District is elevating crimson flags as a brand new college 12 months begins, warning dad and mom and educators about teenagers vaping.
Nationwide, greater than 1.6 million college students reported utilizing e-cigarettes in 2024, in keeping with a press launch from SNHD. Right here at residence, the 2023 Nevada Youth Threat Habits Survey, which is the newest, exhibits vaping has elevated amongst center college college students, leaping from 12.6% in 2021 to fifteen.8% in 2023.
However for top schoolers, the numbers are headed in the wrong way. Practically one in three Nevada highschool college students (31.9%) admitted to vaping in 2023, down from 36.7% simply two years earlier.
Clark County’s information mirrors these numbers: virtually a 3rd of excessive schoolers (30.7%) and about one in six center schoolers (16.3%) stated they’ve tried vaping. And most didn’t purchase their vapes from a retailer. As a substitute, the bulk received them from somebody they knew, SNHD stated.
E-Cigarettes ship nicotine, a extremely addictive drug that may disrupt mind growth, impacting studying, reminiscence, and impulse management, the well being district stated.
A number of key elements for the continued rise in youth vaping, in keeping with SNHD:
Tobacco advertising and marketing on social media: Practically 74% of scholars who use social media have seen e-cigarette-related content material.
Proximity to retailers: 34.8% of Las Vegas public faculties are situated inside 1,000 toes of atobacco retailer, making entry simpler than ever.
Peer affect: The commonest purpose teenagers begin vaping is as a result of a pal does—32.3% of scholars reported getting their first vape from a peer.
Number of e-cigarette flavors that enchantment to youth.
To unfold consciousness, the Well being District and the Clark County Medical Society just lately printed “A Back-to-School Wake-Up Call: The Youth Vaping Crisis.” Click on right here to learn the total article.
