Report: Vaping among Louisiana youth triples since 2015

BATON ROUGE, La. (WVLA/WGMB) — (10/31/19) Electronic cigarette use – commonly referred to as vaping – among Louisiana youth is on the rise, according to a recent study from the 2019 Louisiana Youth Tobacco Survey.

Since 2015, use of e-cigarettes has more than tripled among middle school and high school students. The overwhelming reason students reported using e-cigarettes was due to curiosity. This was followed by participating in a social activity and believing that vaping is safer than smoking traditional cigarettes.

Approximately one in three middle school students and half of high school students polled said they obtained e-cigarettes from friends. The most popular brand among youth was JUUL, however most middle school students did not know the brand of e-cigarette they had ever used.

The most reported reason students used e-cigarettes among both middle school and high school students was that friends or family members used them.