Ricky Resendez, a 17-year-old recent graduate in Superior, Wisconsin, first tried e-cigarettes in eighth grade and was vaping daily by high school. His story is not unique: nearly 6% of middle and high school students — amounting to 1.63 million kids — reported using electronic cigarettes in 2024, federal figures show.
Concerns Over Youth Vaping Rates
Some doctors are concerned that youth vaping rates may rise again due to the FDA’s recent authorization of fruit-flavored vapes intended for adults interested in quitting or cutting back on more harmful traditional cigarettes. Dr. Scott Hadland at Mass General Brigham for Children and Harvard Medical School said, “I understand the goal of giving adult smokers a less harmful off-ramp, but fruit and sweet flavors are precisely what draw young people in. I worry this could erode the hard-won progress that brought teen vaping to its lowest level in roughly a decade.”
Experts say there are ways parents can counteract the allure of e-cigarettes, teach kids about the dangers of vaping, and help them quit. Dr. Devika Rao sees lots of kids with respiratory problems caused by vaping, including coughing, worsening asthma, bronchitis, and more severe types of lung disease.
Helping Kids Quit Vaping
Parents can help their kids by first seeing their doctor, who can connect them with counseling or free text-message quit programs for young people. For kids who vape heavily, doctors may consider medications like Chantix or nicotine replacement therapy as part of a supervised quitting plan.
Gaby Cuadra of Miami, who vaped for nine years starting at age 15, remembers how it hurt her high school track and field performance. She quit after giving up e-cigarettes for Lent, assisted by a free program developed by Truth Initiative and Mayo Clinic called EX, which provides text message support, advice, and encouragement.
Ricky Resendez also quit vaping with the help of the American Lung Association’s Not On Tobacco program. He now shares his story with peers, asking what triggers their vaping and how they can avoid those situations.
Original reporting: Dallas TX News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
