New Mexico Survey: High School Students Are Vaping More And Smoking Less

Source from:  Vapingpost 09/28/2020

The New Mexico Department of Health 2019 Youth Risk and Resiliency Survey, is a joint project between the Department of Health (DOH) and the state Public Education Department, and is conducted once every two years.

An article on the Albuquerque Journal sadly negates the fact that vaping products are safer alternatives to combustible tobacco products, and refers to the devices as tobacco products. To this effect, it complains that “tobacco use” has increased overall. “The survey indicated that the overall use of tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, among young people has increased by 23% since 2009, with more than one-third of high school students, 37.8% using some form of tobacco.”

“Teens have largely gotten the message about the dangers of smoking and pitched their Camels and Kools. But now, many are vaping, negating the gains the anti-tobacco forces hoped to see in New Mexico’s high schools,” added the article.

Tobacco harm reduction strides ignored

Public health and harm reduction experts have long been pointing out that given the relative safety of the devices, the fact that teens are moving away from cigarettes because they are taking up vaping instead, should be considered a victory for public health.

However, Dan Green, DOH survey epidemiologist, insists on the opposite. “From 2009 to 2019, cigarette smoking among youths decreased by 63%, cigar smoking among youths decreased by 54%, and chewing tobacco use declined by 50%,” said Green.

“What that means is the gains achieved by getting young people to turn away from smoking and chewing tobacco, were negated by the rising use of e-cigarette and vaping products,” he added.  Enditem