Smoking Out Trends in Smoking Behaviors in US Teens :

Over the past decade, electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) have affected smoking trends in this country. To illustrate the changes in smoking, Azagba et al (10.1542/peds.2019-3047) analyzed trends of middle and high school students who reported smoking between 2011-2018 and vaping between 2014-2018 using the National Youth Tobacco Survey. The authors looked at many trends including smoking frequency, intensity, age of first cigarette, and age at first e-cigarette use. The findings are quite interesting and may not be what you expect. Although there was a decline in combustible cigarette smoking as e-cigarette use increased, the subpopulation analyses raise important concerns. For example, males smoked more heavily and started smoking earlier than females. Why is this and what can we do? Link to this study and you’ll light up your knowledge base (rather than a combustible or e-cigarette) learning more about the concerning patterns of care and what you can do locally to reduce long-term harm in your patients.