Despite several experts agreeing that vaping is significantly less harmful than tobacco, a wave of stricter laws worldwide has been prompted by new concerns regarding youth addiction and long-term respiratory health.
Also see: Why are dermatologists concerned about social media skincare for teens?
Deemed to be the cooler version of smoking, vaping has been causing some concerns, and has since become a major health and regulatory flashpoint.
Our country has not escaped the harmful concerns of vaping. The habit has been a major concern for the teen demographic in schools.
A 2024 study done by UCT uncovered startling levels of vaping among high school learners in South Africa, with nearly 30% of Grade 12 students reporting active use.
This first-of-its-kind research, involving over 25,000 learners across 52 schools, was published in The Lancet EClinicalMedicine. The study reveals that 16.8% of high school learners have vaped in the past 30 days, with the prevalence increasing sharply by grade, reaching a concerning 29.5% among matriculants and in some schools as high as 46%. This is juxtaposed against significantly lower reported rates of tobacco cigarette use (2%), cannabis use (5%) and hookah pipe use (3%).
Also see: Advice on parenting teens during puberty
Such numbers are quite shocking for such a young demographic.
What Lancet’s eClinicalMedicine numbers are highlighting is how vaping has now been made easy to access, with delivery apps and enticing flavours.
Such accessibility sparks curiosity that makes teens spiral and start being dependent on vaping, leading to addiction, which in turn affects their cognitive development. Vaping for many teens begins in high school, where trying to fit in takes precedence. Since South Africa’s regulatory laws haven’t banned or enforced strict regulation on vaping, there have been plenty of ads about vaping, and online deliveries that still go unchecked.
However, as of this month, the Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Control Bill (B33-2022) has been lingering in Parliament, detailing the journey through various stages of legislative scrutiny about the concerns of vaping.
Also see: Social media is causing more harm than ever before among teens
Source: CANSA
Be the first to know – Join our WhatsApp channel for content worth tapping into. Click here to join!
