There has been a significant increase in marijuana vaping among teenagers in the U.S., while use of illicit drugs, smoking and alcohol use has slowed, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
The study includes data from Monitoring the Future survey results. The survey, funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse and conducted by Ann Arbor-based University of Michigan, surveys drug and alcohol use by adolescent students across the nation.
Children in the eighth, 10th and 11th grades were polled. For the 2019 survey, two-thirds of those surveyed received questions related specifically to marijuana vaping, compared to one-third whoreceived the questions in 2017 and 2018. The students were asked if they had vaped marijuana in the past 30 days, the last 12 months or in their lifetime.
The survey shows 3.9 percent of eighth-graders reported marijuana vaping in the last 30 days, as well as 12.6 percent of 10th-graders and 14 percent of 12th-graders. These numbers show a significant increase from 2018 to 2019, with absolute increases of 1.3 percent among eighth-graders; 5.6 percent among 10th-graders; and 6.5 percent among 12th-graders.
Additionally, near-daily marijuana vaping was reported by 0.8 percent of eighth-graders; 3 percent of 10th-graders and 3.5 percent of 12th-graders.
In comparison, past-month alcohol intake among eighth-graders decreased between 2018 and 2019 — from 8.2 percent to 7.9 percent; from 18.6 percent to 18.4 percent among 10th-graders, and from 30.2 percent to 29.3 percent among 12th-graders.
Reported part-month cigarette use increased slightly among eighth-graders from 2018 to 2019, but decreased among 10th- and 12th-graders.
Use of illicit drugs in the past month increased among eighth-graders and 10th graders from 2018 to 2019, but decreased from 24 percent to 23.7 percent among 12th-graders.