One in every 11 teens has used marijuana in electronic cigarettes, according to a research published Monday in JAMA Pediatrics, the pediatrics-focused peer-reviewed journal of the American Medical Association.
Of the slightly more than 20,000 teens surveyed in the school-based study, 9% self-reported that they had vaped marijuana. That extrapolates to 2.1 million middle and high school students using e-cigarettes to get high on cannabis products.
“Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) are the most commonly used tobacco product among U.S. youth,” the study authors noted, confirming other reports that trends toward teen vaping, including the use of popular brand Juul, are only increasing. The study authors, affiliated with the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion’s Office on Smoking and Health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, also found that young people who lived with a tobacco user were more likely to report using e-cigs to vape marijuana.
Debates about the health impacts of vaping have been ongoing, but at least one major study has shown the same toxic, cancer-causing chemicals are present in e-cigarettes that exist in traditional tobacco cigarettes.
Keeping teens from vaping flavored tobacco has also proven to be a regulatory nightmare. But last week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) took “historic action” against the youth epidemic of e-cigarette use. On Sept. 12, the FDA told e-cigarette companies they have 60 days to come up with a plan for reducing e-cig use among young users.