Vaping and Teens: A Dangerous Mix

Vaping as become all the rage for kids over the last decade – is this just the next thing or is this cause for worry? According to a study published in JAMA Pediatrics this week it’s definitely cause for concern.

Between 2013 and 2020, marijuana vaping by school-aged people has been found to have doubled. The published article took a look at close to 200,000 adolescents from 17 studies. They found that adolescents today are more interested in vaping marijuana than they are other dried herbs, as it gives them a buzz they are seeking.

Marijuana use in teens has many negative consequences and can cause permanent side effects as the brain is still developing at this age. Some of the studies seem to indicate that vaping marijuana has worse consequences than does vaping nicotine.

As one study author, Carol Boyd, professor emerita and codirector of the Center for the Study of Drugs, Alcohol, Smoking & Health at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, explained to CNN, “”Without a doubt, cigarettes and e-cigarettes are unhealthy and not good for lungs. However, vaping marijuana appears even worse.”

Vaping is not the innocuous activity some kids would like to make it out to be – and parents should be aware of this trend and speak to their children about its consequences.