E-cigarettes most commonly used product among middle-, high-school students with, without asthma
TUESDAY, June 5, 2018 (HealthDay News) — Youth with asthma have considerably higher use of tobacco products than those without asthma, with electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) being the most commonly used tobacco product, according to research published in the June 1 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Keshia M. Reid, Ph.D., from the Florida Department of Health in Tallahassee, and colleagues analyzed data from the 2016 Florida Youth Tobacco Survey to assess current use of one or more of five tobacco product types among Florida middle school (grades 6 to 8) and high school students (grades 9 to 12) with or without a previous medical diagnosis of asthma. Tobacco product types included cigarettes, e-cigarettes (defined as e-cigarettes, e-cigars, vape pipes, vaping pens, e-hookah, and hookah pens), hookah, smokeless tobacco, or cigars.
The researchers found that 11.1 percent of middle school and 27.9 percent of high school students with asthma reported any current tobacco product use in 2016; among students without asthma, 7.9 and 24.2 percent, respectively, reported any current tobacco product use. Students with versus without asthma had considerably higher current use of each tobacco product type. The most commonly used tobacco product type reported by middle and high school students with asthma (7.9 and 19.6 percent. respectively) and without asthma (5.8 and 17.2 percent, respectively) was e-cigarettes.
“Statewide tobacco prevention strategies could help reduce all forms of tobacco product use among youths, particularly among those with asthma,” the authors write.
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