Teens reporting daily social media use 3x more likely to vape: Study

Newswise — A new study from Yale School of Medicine finds adolescents who spend more time on social media may be more likely to try e-cigarettes.

Researchers led by Juhan Lee, PhD, found that compared to adolescents who never use social networks, those who reported daily use of social media platforms were more than three times likelier to use e-cigarettes for the first time over the following year. The study used data from the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study collected between 2016 and 2019.

For youth who already reported vaping, daily social media use did not predict continuing e-cigarette use.

"We need a stronger commitment to protect our youth from pro-tobacco content online," says senior author Grace Kong, PhD. "Anti-tobacco campaigns on social media and regulations to prevent tobacco companies from targeting youth on social media could be effective strategies."