The number of kids vaping is increasing at an alarming rate in the US, but teens living in rural areas are the most likely to pick up the habit.
Researchers reviewed state-by-state data from the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, an advocacy group that works to help young people quit smoking.
Based on a 2023 study, the team concluded that Wyoming has the highest rate of youth e-cigarette use. Nearly one in three teens have used e-cigarettes in the past year, despite the state’s ban on e-cigarette sales to residents under 21.
Meanwhile, California had the lowest rate of vaping at six percent, thanks to strict regulations from Governor Gavin Newsom, who recently banned the sale of flavored vapes to people of all ages.
These findings come amid mounting damning research into the harms of e-cigarettes, particularly in young people, including irreversible lung damage and even cancer.
Wyoming topped the list for the most youth e-cigarette users, followed by West Virginia and Alaska.
A May analysis found that vaping increases the risk of asthma by 200 percent. Previous studies have shown that vaping can lead to lung cancer, respiratory illness, lung disease and organ damage.
In general, rrecent figures from JAMA According to the researchers, more than 2 million children under the age of 18 vape regularly, along with 17 million adults.
Researchers at online marketplace for recipes Universal Drugstoreanalyzed federal and state health data on air quality, youth obesity, sports participation, mental health, test scores, and youth e-cigarette use.
They then combined these scores into one score to determine the ‘healthiest’ and ‘unhealthiest’ status of children.
Wyoming has the highest rate of youth vaping, with 30 percent of children under 18 reporting using e-cigarettes in 2023.
The researchers wrote: ‘Although the state has a number of laws aimed at curbing vaping, including banning the sale or distribution of vaping products to persons under 21 and enforcing child-resistant packaging for e-cigarettes, vaping rates are still the highest in the country.’
In addition to these laws, the use of e-cigarettes is prohibited in daycare centers and buyers of tobacco products must pay a 15 percent tax.
However, the state’s largely rural landscape and small population could be partly to blame for the high youth vaping rate. About 80 percent of Wyoming residents live in rural areas, as much of the state’s land area is used for agriculture and national parks.
The large rural areas can make it harder to enforce state vaping laws. Rural areas also tend to have less access to clinics and resources about the health harms associated with vaping.
Wyoming also has one of the smallest health care budgets in the U.S., accounting for just 0.1 percent of annual U.S. health care spending.
The CDC has found that the number of adults who light up cigarettes has dropped to a historic low of 11 percent
West Virginia ranked second, with 28 percent of teens using e-cigarettes last year.
The mountain state has fewer restrictions than Wyoming, allowing the sale of e-cigarettes to those under 21 and not enforcing smoke-free school zones.
West Virginia was also seen as the unhealthiest state to raise a child in, scoring just 0.75 out of 10.
And in 2022, the state had the highest percentage of adults who smoked in the US, at 25 percent.
Vaping is often promoted as a healthier alternative to smoking and is used as a means to help smokers quit. This may have contributed to the high vaping rate in the state.
Alaska had the third highest percentage of youth who tried e-cigarettes, at 26 percent.
Last year, Alaska Senate President Gary Stevens, a Republican, introduced House Bill 89, which would have imposed the first-ever tax on e-cigarette products in the state.
A bill was also introduced in 2022 to raise the minimum age for purchasing tobacco products and e-cigarettes from 19 to 21, but was defeated by Governor Mike Dunleavy.
As in Wyoming, the state’s vast rural areas can contribute to difficult enforcement of youth vaping regulations.
Louisiana and Montana tie for the top five, with a quarter of teens in both states using e-cigarettes.
One study linked vaping to health effects such as asthma, pneumonia and bronchitis. Smoking, however, has long been associated with serious health effects such as lung cancer and heart disease.
When it comes to adult vaping, a study in JAMA found that Oklahoma topped the list
Meanwhile, California was the least popular state among young people to vape, with only six percent of teens having started vaping.
California has some of the strictest regulations in the US, including a ban on the sale of flavored tobacco products to residents of all ages.
The minimum age for purchasing e-cigarettes and other tobacco products has also been raised to 21 years.
Under California state law, e-cigarettes must also carry health warnings about the use of nicotine and other chemicals.
After the Golden State, Washington had the second-lowest number of youth vapers, at eight percent. In the Evergreen State, the legal age to purchase vapes is 21 and all flavored vapes are banned.
Advertisements for e-cigarettes are also prohibited in areas where young people congregate, such as parks.
Indiana, Utah and Oregon are at the bottom of the list, each with vaping rates below 10 percent among teens.