The good news, is that teens — according to the CDC — are using e-cigarettes more than they are using cigarettes, but that information is concerning when you consider the fact that the number of teen e-cigarette users has tripled since 2013.

According to the report, from 2013- 2014, the number of high school students using e-cigarettes jumped from 660,000 to 2,000,000. 

“People are vaping and smoking e-cigarettes who didn’t smoke in the first place,” said Cary Quashen from Action Family Counseling. “I think it was originally intended as a helpful tool to get people off of cigarettes, but that’s not how it’s being used anymore.”

The number of middle school students using e-cigarettes jumped from 120,000 to 450,000 in that same year.

“Nicotine is nicotine, and nicotine is terrible for the developing adolescent brain,” said Elizabeth Cohen, CNN’s senior medical correspondent.

The use of hookah among teens has actually doubled in that same time period, Cohen said.

“The duration is the problem when it comes to hookah,” Cohen said. “It’s an incredible amount of nicotine, when you are sitting around for an hour smoking it.” 

The flavors of hookah and e-cigarettes have come under fire recently for appearing to be marketed towards children.

Parents have to be very explicit with their middle schooler or teen, Cohen said, and explain that these things may look harmless, and it may look colorful, but it’s not harmless.

“It’s all about the parents,” Quahsen said, “parents need to educate themselves when it comes to these products, and they need to talk to their kids about them.” 

For more information about e-cigarettes, watch a video here.

About Action Family Counseling

Action Family Counseling has drug and alcohol residential treatment locations in Santa Clarita, Piru, and Bakersfield; Intensive Drug and Alcohol Outpatient in Santa Clarita, Simi Valley, Ventura, Pasadena, and Bakersfield, Action Family Counseling is here to help you. 

Action Family Counseling’s primary goals are to maintain abstinence, stabilize co-occurring illnesses, and increase quality of life. We support and reinforce change in behavior patterns so that adolescents and adults, or clients and their families can fully indoctrinate the philosophies and principles needed to remain abstinent and stabilized for life.

Action Family Counseling accomplishes this by providing an effective treatment approach developed by the Department of Health and Human Services that includes a multi-disciplinarian personalized approach by a treatment team. Once a patient is identified, we provide an initial screening and assessment, which allows us to properly diagnose and place patients in the appropriate treatment setting. 

Once a patient completes our intake process to our residential program he or she receives 24-hour crisis management, individual counseling, group therapy, family education and counseling, treatment planning, routine and random toxicology screening, pharmacotherapy and medication management, education about Alcohol and Other Drugs and mental health issues, self-help and support group orientation, case management services, and discharge service planning with a transitional service plan to our Intensive Outpatient treatment program to ensure a continuum of care.

For crisis calls, or inquiry about our Programs, call (800) 367-8336.

Photo courtesy of CNN News.