Tobacco Use Rises Among Teens

"Vaping"- have you heard of it? If you have a teen in your home, you might want to brush up on this new lingo. "Vaping" is the term for puffing on an e-cigarette, and e-cigarettes are the reason that for the first time in a generation, tobacco use has risen among the nation's youth.

Yes, you read that right. Although the use of traditional cigarettes has declined, the number of teens puffing on electronic cigarettes has skyrocketed in recent years, from 660,000 in 2013 to about 2 million in 2014.

E-cigarettes don't technically have tobacco in them, but they are still considered a tobacco product by the CDC.Although any adverse health effects caused by long-term use of e-cigarettes have not yet been proven and need to be studied, e-cigarettes still contain nicotine, a highly addictive drug derived from tobacco, and other potentially harmful chemicals. Additionally, some experts warn that e-cigarettes can be a "gateway" tobacco product to more conventional (and dangerous) products like cigarettes and cigars.

So, what do you need to know about teens and e-cigarettes? Read these 6 facts to educate yourself about this new trend, and find tips to talk to your teen about the dangers of smoking any tobacco products.

Have you ever caught your teen smoking? How did you deal with it?

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