Sweet, Fruity E-Cig Flavors Associated with Long-Term/Heavier Vaping Among Teens

The US Food and Drug Administration prohibits the sale of cigarettes in flavors other than menthol or tobacco, but these policies do not currently extend to e-cigarettes, and vaping in nontraditional flavors, including fruity, candy and dessert flavors, are very popular with teenagers. A new study, “Flavored e-Cigarette Use and Progression of Vaping in Adolescents,” in the November 2019 Pediatrics, found that among youth who vape, teens who use e-cigarettes in these fruity and tasty nontraditional flavors are more likely to continue vaping and inhale more during each vaping session. Researchers for the study, which is published online on Oct. 28, studied survey results from 478 adolescents, who were surveyed every six months from 10th grade in the spring of 2015 through 12th grade, and found that vaping continuation was higher 6 months after vaping these non-traditional flavors as compared to use of only traditional flavors like tobacco or menthol. The kids in this study also reported taking more puffs each time they vaped 6 months after using e-cigarettes in these tasty flavors, which include fruit, dessert, candy and even buttery flavored vaping fluid. Researchers concluded that regulations which reduce youth exposure to flavored e-cigarettes may aid in preventing young people who try e-cigarettes from becoming long-term e-cig users, and also from inhaling more of the fluid into their lungs, and that such regulations could also encourage existing adolescents who vape non-traditional flavors to discontinue vaping.

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The American Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of 67,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists dedicated to the health, safety and well-being of infants, children, adolescents and young adults. For more information, visit www.aap.org and follow us on Twitter @AmerAcadPeds