Use of E-Cigarettes Rises Sharply Among Teenagers, Report Says
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The New York Times reports on how the use of electronic smoking devices devices among middle- and high school students tripled from 2013 to 2014, according to federal data released on Thursday, bringing the share of high school students who use them to 13 percent — more than smoke traditional cigarettes.
About a quarter of all high school students and 8 percent of middle school students — 4.6 million young people altogether — used tobacco in some form last year. The sharp rise of e-cigarettes, together with a substantial increase in the use of hookah pipes, led to 400,000 additional young people using a tobacco product in 2014, the first increase in years, though researchers pointed out the percentage of the rise fell within the report’s margin of error.
While some states, including New Jersey, set a minimum age of sale for these products the proliferation of vape shops and equipment for sale online has made access easy, and some teenagers said they simply clicked a button to indicate they were over 18 to be able to order a starter kit.