Australian Clinical Trial: High Prevalence Of E-cigarette Use Among Minors, Depression And Stress Are The Main Causes
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Australian clinical trial: High prevalence of e-cigarette use among minors, depression and stress are the main causes
An Australian study found that high school students with poor mental health, especially those with severe depressive symptoms, are more likely to try e-cigarettes. This suggests that preventing minors from vaping requires attention to mental health issues.
According to News-Medical.Net on September 2, a study on the e-cigarette behavior of Australian high school students found that students with severe depressive symptoms were more than twice as likely to try e-cigarettes as those without depressive symptoms.
Research data show that students with poor overall mental health (including severe depressive symptoms, moderate and high stress, and low happiness) use e-cigarettes more frequently.
These data come from the "OurFutures Vaping Trial". This is Australia's first and currently only clinical trial of a school-based e-cigarette prevention program, designed to rigorously test whether it can prevent Australian teenagers from starting to smoke e-cigarettes. The study surveyed more than 5,000 7th and 8th grade students in 40 schools in New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia from May to October 2023.
Of the 5,157 students participating in the study, 8.3% reported having used e-cigarettes. Students who reported moderate stress were 74% more likely to use e-cigarettes, while those who reported high stress were 64% more likely to use e-cigarettes. Students who reported low well-being were 105% more likely to use e-cigarettes than those who reported high well-being. No association was found between anxiety symptoms and e-cigarette use.
"Although not explored in our study, this relationship may be explained by shared social, environmental and genetic risk factors, or may point to some self-medication behavior," said Emily Stockings, Associate Professor at the Matilda Centre and co-author.
"In the short term, nicotine may reduce feelings of anxiety and stress, and young people may use e-cigarettes as a coping mechanism. Whether mental health problems lead to vaping or vice versa, it is clear that to prevent youth from starting vaping, we need to address mental health issues at the same time."
