Even in the wake of the vapocalypse, with the lung illness still affecting people across America (likely due to illicit THC cartridges made using vitamin E acetate), the response from the government and public health bodies has still maintained its laser-like focus on teens and youths vaping.
The story is the same as always: there is an “epidemic” of youth vaping, and we’re told that innocent, wide-eyed kids who’d never have smoked otherwise are lured into nicotine use and ultimately smoking by the “child-friendly flavors” many e-liquids and pods are available in.
The “epidemic” was declared last year, as “preliminary data” (read: not available to analyze for other researchers) from the National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS) showed a shocking rise in past-month vaping among middle and high school students. Like Trump declaring an emergency at the southern border to bolster the case for his anti-immigration agenda, the “epidemic” was used – and still is being used – as justification for pushing through harsh restrictions on vaping. The target of these is (usually) the flavored products that many adults credit with playing a key role in their transition from smoking to vaping.
The big question is: is there really an epidemic of youth vaping? Declaring one while holding the key data close to your chest is easy, but maintaining it when the data is open for anybody to pore through is much more difficult.
A new study does just this. Martin J. Jarvis, Robert J. West and Jamie Brown from University College London have taken a look at the details behind the epidemic, and the results call into question five of the key claims made to justify this epidemic.
1 – Never-Smoking Teens are Much Less Likely to Vape
Lee Johnson – Ecigarette Reviewed – October 6, 2019.
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