A new study recently published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine shows that race and sexual orientation are important factors in determining the prevalence of e-cigarette use among youth in the United States. Analyzing data collected between 2015 and 2019 from over 38,000 high school students across the United States, the study found that differences in race, ethnicity and sexual orientation have an impact on the likelihood of teenagers vaping.
Previous Studies estimate that about half of high school students in the country have tried vaping at least once. At the same time about a third of all the teenagers in the country who have tried vaping use e-cigarettes regularly. According to the CDC, the number of high school students who use e-cigarettes grew by over 1000% in 2020 to 26.5% up from 2.4% in 2019.
The problem with these statistics is that nicotine found in tobacco products including e-cigarettes is highly addictive. This means that once teens experiment with e-cigarettes they can easily get addicted to these products and are at a higher risk of becoming regular cigarette smokers. This is what informed researchers to look further into the vaping problem and identify the risk factors for different teen groups.
The study carried out by Yale University School of Medicine’s postdoctoral fellow Juhan Lee and Annenberg School for Communication associate professor Andy Tan looked to fill in more information regarding “vaping prevalence among young people at the intersections of more than one minoritized identity”. True to its mission the study provided important findings on the prevalence of e-cigarettes among heterosexual and lesbian teens as compared to cross racial groups.
The study found that e-cigarettes prevalent was more in black lesbian girls (18.2%) than black heterosexual girls (7.1%). Similarly, e-cigarette use was more prevalent in multiracial lesbian girls (17.9%) than in multiracial heterosexual girls (11.9%). However, e-cigarette use prevalence among white lesbian girls was lower (9.1%) than among white heterosexual girls (16.1%). There was no significant difference among the different boy groups.
These findings seem to agree with previous studies which showered that the use of e-cigarettes was higher among lesbians. It is believed that they use e-cigarette products as a coping mechanism for stress related to their sexual orientation. Usually, homosexual youth face more stress in society. This is particularly because they are discriminated against or bullied.
There is also a marked difference between prevalence levels between boys and girls. There is a huge disparity between girls and boys. The authors of this study believe that it is due to the marketing of e-cigarette products which target queer women. Past studies show that black and Hispanic bisexual women report higher exposure to tobacco product ads than white heterosexual women. Tan one of the authors of the studies says that “For years, the tobacco industry has targeted marketing toward traditionally marginalized groups, whether in clubs, bars, Pride events, or through magazines.” He hopes the finding of this study will be used as a springboard for further studies that will help solve issues that relate to tobacco use among the youth.
