NAAF: Explosive increase in children and young people’s use of e-cigarettes

E-cigarettes (vape) were initially launched as a nicotine-containing aid for smoking cessation, where it was pointed out that vaping on an e-cigarette was much less harmful than smoking tobacco. In recent years, the products have acquired a look and taste that suggests that the target group is not adults, ex-smokers, but children and young people. The products, which look like colorful toys or objects, have flavors like tuttifrutti and chocolate, and are sold online, with nicotine.

Due to increased concern related to children and young people’s use of e-cigarettes prepared The Directorate of Health in June an information letter which the municipalities in Norway can send out to parents with children and young people in primary and secondary school.

– This development in recent years has gone completely under the radar for most people, but vaping has become a trend. We are talking about secondary school students who have been vaping since primary school, and are so addicted that they leave a 50 minute school lesson to vape in the bathroom. That this is happening in smoke-free Norway, without anyone having followed it, is completely incomprehensible, says secretary general Guro Birkeland of the Norwegian Asthma and Allergy Association (NAAF) to NTB.

Totally illegal and very harmful

The age limit for the sale and use of e-cigarettes is 18 years. In Norway, it is also prohibited to sell e-cigarettes with nicotine. Furthermore, since 1 July, it has only been allowed to sell tobacco-flavoured vape in Norway, not those with appealing aromas and candy flavours.

However, it is easy to get hold of such illegal vape products on foreign websites or when buying abroad. The Directorate of Health writes that many of the e-cigarettes that young people use are illegally imported from rogue manufacturers and are resold via Snapchat and other “street sellers”.

Birkeland is particularly concerned about the harmful effects of nicotine, which is a poison, as some e-cigarettes can contain much more nicotine than traditional cigarettes, and this increases the risk of becoming addicted in a short time. In addition, young people become addicted more easily.

– The earlier you are exposed to nicotine, the greater the risk of becoming addicted. We are also concerned about how vaping affects the lungs of young people, she says.

The Lung Medicine Association has previously pointed out that e-cigarettes contain a number of substances that can cause more coughing and phlegm complaints, an increased risk of bronchitis, asthma and asthma exacerbations, emphysema, irritation in the respiratory tract and worsen allergy symptoms.

Trend or hype?

Birkeland believes that many parents are not aware of the trend and also do not know that nicotine can affect the development of brain functions in children and young people. The brain is not fully developed until the mid-20s. Nicotine use over time can, among other things, damage the areas of the brain that control attention, learning and impulse control.

On Monday, there will be new, national figures on how many young people have tried or use e-cigarettes, when NOVA presents the Ungdata report. The results of some of the local investigations included there are already known. For example showed last year’s Ungdata survey in Oslo that the proportion who had tried vaping had increased from 15 to 31 per cent from 2021 to 2023. The proportion who vaped daily had increased from 1 to 3 per cent. The proportion who vaped occasionally had increased from 2 to 14 per cent.

– It is too early to say whether the numbers we see constitute the peak of a hype or an incipient trend, stated researcher Rikke Tokle in NOVA in an article on Ungdata.no last year. She had contributed to an analysis of youth tobacco habits: smoking, sniffing and vaping.

Measures underway

Division director Linda Granlund in the Directorate of Health says in an email to NTB that they take the development very seriously, and that it is worrying.

– The figures, together with the zeal for innovation in the industry when it comes to developing new nicotine products that are also marketed towards young people, mean that this is something we are following closely. It also corresponds to trends in other countries, says Granlund.

The health authorities are now working on several measures that can reduce use among young people, among other things, a bill is currently out for consultation to ban online sales. It has also been decided that e-cigarettes should be standardized like smoke and snuff.

– We implemented a campaign against young people in May-July and works to increase knowledge about e-cigarettes among young people, their parents and other relevant adults. In the national tobacco strategy, the government has a goal of a tobacco- and nicotine-free generation, and we are looking at which additional measures can contribute to achieving this goal.