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Survey shows more Idaho teens are trying vaping

Elf Bar disposable vaping pod devices are displayed, Monday, June 26, 2023, in Washington. The number of electronic cigarette devices sold in the U.S. has nearly tripled since 2020, driven almost entirely by a wave of unauthorized disposable vapes from China, according to sales data obtained by the Associated Press. Recently U.S. health regulators have begun trying to block imports of several of the biggest brands, including Elf Bar and Esco Bar. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
Andrew Harnik/AP
/
AP
Elf Bar disposable vaping pod devices are displayed, Monday, June 26, 2023, in Washington. The number of electronic cigarette devices sold in the U.S. has nearly tripled since 2020, driven almost entirely by a wave of unauthorized disposable vapes from China, according to sales data obtained by the Associated Press. Recently U.S. health regulators have begun trying to block imports of several of the biggest brands, including Elf Bar and Esco Bar. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

A new survey of Idaho teens shows vape use is increasing across the state. Vapes are a form of electronic cigarettes that use a battery to heat a liquid solution to a high temperature, producing an aerosol that is inhaled.

The anonymous survey of more than 600 Idaho teens conducted in September and October showed that about one in every three had tried vaping, up from one in five in 2021.

Boise’s Rathbone Falvey Research conducted the survey on behalf of Idaho Public Television. CEO Vina Rathbone Falvey says teens often try vaping for the first time in Junior High.

“Both boys and girls are likely to try vaping at kind of the same rate,” she explained. “Once they try it and and pick it up as a habit, teenage girls we saw were more likely to do it much more frequently,” she said.

Nicotine in vaping products makes them highly addictive. Chemicals used in e-cigarettes can cause irreversible lung damage or other health issues according to the American Lung Association.

About one-third of teens surveyed had positive attitudes about vaping. Rathbone Falvey says millennial parents who may not have seen much nicotine use in schools when they were growing up might not realize nicotine is making a comeback in Idaho schools right now.

“My hope is that by sharing this data, more parents will have more conversations and and more teens will just be a little bit more aware of the risks and dangers associated with vaping and avoid it,” she said.

Survey results are being used to inform a public service announcement campaign by Idaho Public Television, called the KNOW VAPE Be Smart, Don’t Start campaign. It is funded in part by money vape companies have paid Idaho to settle allegations of illegally marketing their products to teens.

“Although the survey results showed that the KNOW VAPE campaign has high recall and kids know vaping is bad for their health, we have a lot more work to do to get the message out to kids and parents about the dangers and highly addictive nature of youth vaping,” said Jennie Sue Weltner, executive producer of IPTV’s KNOW VAPE campaign.

Editor's note: The photo accompanying this story has been changed since the original post to better reflect the content of the story.

Troy Oppie is a reporter and local host of 'All Things Considered' for Boise State Public Radio News.

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