The survey indicated a massive 87.4% drop from 2001 when almost one-third of New Jersey high schoolers reported smoking.
The biennial survey has indicated new trends with youth smoking reaching an all time low, and youth vaping declining since peaking in 2019. In fact, the survey results show that in 2021, 3.7% New Jersey high school students, reported smoking. This equates to a 2.6% decline from 2019’s levels and a massive 87.4% drop from 2001 when almost one-third or 29.4% of New Jersey high schoolers reported smoking.
With regards to vaping, in 2021 36.3% of New Jersey high school students reported ever-trying a vaping product, which is an 18.8% drop from 2019 when 44.7% of students reported ever trying. Current use is similarly down with 21.6% of high schoolers reporting past-month vaping in 2021, a 21.7% decline from 2019.
Is anyone actually focusing on why students consume nicotine?
While the survey results are promising, many have highlighted that the measures in place to prevent youth smoking and vaping are evidently not addressing the reasons why youth start vaping. In fact an astounding 43.4% of U.S. middle and high school students said they were currently vaping due to feeling anxious, depressed, and/or stressed. Only 13.2% of U.S. youth who were currently using vaping products in 2021 reported using them because of the availability of flavours.
Sadly 41.5% of New Jersey high schoolers reported persistent feelings of hopelessness or sadness, a 15.9% increase from 2019. Even more shocking is the fact that 19.6% of the students reported having “seriously considered” suicide in the 12 months prior to the survey, 13.1% had made a suicide plan, and 9.5% had attempted suicide—a horrifying 61% increase from 2019.
Similarly, the 2021 YRBS indicated that among Kansas high school students, vaping peaked in 2019 with nearly one-half (48.6%) reporting ever having tried a vape and over one-fifth (22%) currently vaping. While between 2019 and 2021, ever-use of vapes dropped by 29%, to 34.2% of high schoolers, and current use decreased by 34.5% to only 14.4% of Kansas high school students.
In fact, contrary to alarmist fears that youth vaping would lead to an increase in youth use of traditional tobacco products, in these States youth use of cigarettes, cigars, and smokeless tobacco products are at the lowest levels ever recorded.
Other States witnessing similar patterns?
In line with the figures in New Jersey, less than one-fifth of the students surveyed in Kansas (17.2%) reported ever having tried a combustible cigarette. This is a 30.6% decline from 2019 and a significant 66.3% drop from 2005 when 51% of students reported trying cigarettes. Even better, only 4.6% of Kansas high schoolers reported current smoking, which was a 20.7% drop from 2019’s levels and a 78.1% decrease from 2005 when 21% reported current use.
Other US States, including Vermont, Maryland and New York reported similar use patterns. Infact, discussing these patterns Executive Coordinator of CAPHRA (Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates) Nancy Loucas, recently highlighted that in line with other studies, the YRBS proves that contrary of the often alleged epidemic, vaping is leading to a decrease in tobacco use.
“Alarm bells about a United States’ youth vaping epidemic have now been proven to be false,” said Loucas on discussing the findings. “CAPHRA has long been calling out Bloomberg’s anti-vaping and anti-nicotine activism. We now have government data that completely contradicts their claims of an exploding youth vaping epidemic,” she added.
