As kids head back to school, many for the first time since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, health and education advocates are raising concerns that kids could be returning to an environment that includes the greater use of e-cigarettes. Youth e-cigarette use more than doubled from 2017 to 2019, leading the U.S. Surgeon General to declare it an “epidemic.” While rates dropped in 2020, 3.6 million kids – including nearly 1 in 5 high school students – still use e-cigarettes. As kids return to school, health advocates warn youth e-cigarette use could rise again because of peer pressure and the continued widespread availability of e-cigarettes in kid-friendly flavors like gummy bear, cotton candy and mint.

The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and the National Association of School Nurses are providing practical tips for parents and educators to help spot the most popular e-cigarette products among high school students, what behavioral changes to watch for and how to talk to kids about the health risks of using e-cigarettes. They are also calling on policymakers to protect kids by banning all flavored e-cigarettes, the root cause of the youth e-cigarette epidemic.

Tobacco companies target kids with fun and appealing flavors, easy-to-hide devices and massive doses of highly addictive nicotine. The U.S. Surgeon General has concluded that youth use of nicotine in any form, including e-cigarettes, is unsafe, can cause addiction and can harm adolescent brain development, particularly the parts of the brain responsible for attention, memory and learning. The Surgeon General also found that using nicotine in adolescence can increase risk of future addiction to other drugs.

Laurie Rubiner, Executive Vice President of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and Linda Mendonca, President of the National Association of School Nurses share some tips on how to spot the different types of e-cigarettes and how nicotine and tobacco affects children and young adults.