As a part of the We Can Be Drug Free Coalition’s effort to decrease the number of youth who vape in our community we recognized the need to talk to the youth and learn more about how and why they are using these products. In March 2024 the coalition staff worked with a local Epidemiologist from Southeast Missouri Behavioral Health’s Prevention Department to conduct a youth focus group to learn more about how and why youth vape. The Focus Group was conducted with ten 7th and 8th grade students right here in Poplar Bluff. We asked youth a variety of questions, but all around the topic of vaping. I have to say, I work in this field. It is not uncommon for me to have conversations weekly with youth about substance use, however even I was surprised by some of the information we learned during this focus group. In this month’s post I am going to share with you some of what we learned from these youth, but if you are interested in reading the entire report from our focus group you can find the final report on our website at www.wecanbedrugfree.org.
We started the focus group out by letting the youth know that we were talking about all types of e-cigarettes during the session, and that their answers would remain anonymous. Then we asked the students why kids their age use e-cigarettes? The answers among students varied and included things we expected like peer-pressure and it’s cool. One response stood out to me particularly though, a student shared that most youth vape because they use these products as a “kill switch”. When we asked more of what the youth meant, they shared that these products help you get rid of unwanted thoughts or intrusive thoughts. I think it is so important that we recognize this for exactly what it is. While some students are using these products to “fit in” others are using these substances as a coping mechanism for mental health issues.
Next, we asked the youth what substances they are vaping, and we really got a variety of answers. Most of the youth responded that youth are using products like nicotine, blank cartridges, or THC Cartridges. Then we asked how the youth knew what they were vaping since they aren’t old enough to purchase these products on their own, and the answer was simple. They said they really don’t know what they are vaping, they will just use whatever they can get their hands on.
We also talked to the youth about how many people their age vape, and most of them responded that they believed over 40% of the students at their school vape, while some believed it was much higher and others believed it was much lower. We know from the Missouri Student Survey that this is probably an exaggeration, however they are right, a lot of students are using these products. What was more shocking was when we asked the youth about how many adults they think vape. Most participants believed that over 50% of the adults in our community vape. According to national statistics, the number of adults who actually vape is closer to 4.5%. This was a vast difference in the perception of the youth versus the reality of the adults using these products.
Next, we spoke with the youth about how they are accessing vapes since they are not old enough to buy themselves. There were many answers given including that there are some convenience stores that sell to youth, many students get them from friends or siblings, and we had several youth share that they are getting these products because their parents buy them for them. This was a newer concept to us, however after further exploration we have learned that many parents are purchasing vapes for their children so they can be sure of the substances they are getting. Youth also reported that their parents often vape, and that it would be easy to take a vape that their parents have left just laying around the house. Finally, we talked about a more innovative way the youth are accessing these products. Youth are utilizing social media platforms such as SnapChat and Instagram to purchase these products. Youth reported that there are fake accounts that will add you on social media. These fake accounts will then post pictures or use keywords to inform users of what they are selling, and youth simply swipe up and type their address and these products are then delivered right to their doorstep.
Youth shared that they are able to continue to use these products while they are at school and at home. At school they mentioned vaping in the bathrooms or showers in the locker rooms. Some shared that students vape in class by blowing the exhaled aerosol into their sleeve. At home the students talked about going outside to use or using while they are in the bathroom with the water for the shower running.
Finally, we asked the youth how they thought vaping affected their health, and these youth showed that they really knew a lot about the risks of vaping. The youth mentioned things like making anxiety and depression worse as well as the physical impacts that vaping can have on your body and lungs.
Our coalition was blown away by the amount of information we learned during this focus group. I encourage you, if you have time to read the full report, so you can learn more about how the youth responded to our questions. Overall, here are the top points we gathered that we are committed to educating our community about:
Many youth in our community are vaping.
Youth are using vapes as a coping mechanism for untreated mental health issues.
Youth can easily obtain access to vapes from parents, siblings, convenience stores, and social media websites.
Youth have a strong misperception of the number of adults who vape in our community.
Youth seem to be more aware of the dangers of vaping than some parents.
If you are a parent, I would encourage you to read the report and use these facts to have important conversations with your child. Talk to your child about the dangers of vaping and why it is important to you that they don’t vape. Make your expectations around vape usage and possession clear, and make sure that your child knows the consequences of using or possessing e-cigarettes. I also think we need to work together as a community to set a positive example for our youth. We can do this through conversations about why we choose not to vape as adults and teaching them healthy coping mechanisms for dealing with mental health issues.
The We Can Be Drug Free Coalition recognizes that we have a lot of work to do when it comes to youth vaping in our community. We are committed to continuing to gather information, identify issues, and work to actively solve these issues by implementing evidence-based prevention strategies in our community. Want to help? Visit our website to learn more about what you can do to get involved today.