Rising Vaping Among Teens Linked to Mental Health Struggles, Study Reveals Alarming Trends

In a revealing new study, Australian high school students grappling with severe depression or poor overall wellbeing are reportedly twice as likely to have tried vaping. This alarming correlation was uncovered in a survey involving over 5,000 students aged 12 to 14, conducted as part of the OurFutures vaping prevention program spearheaded by the University of Sydney's Matilda Centre. The findings highlighted a troubling prevalence of mental health issues among young adolescents, with one in five students in Years 7 and 8 exhibiting moderate to severe symptoms of depression. Accompanying these figures, the study indicated that one-third of respondents reported poor wellbeing, while another third experienced high stress levels, and one-fifth reported high anxiety. The implications of these statistics suggest an urgent need for early intervention programs that address both mental health and the rising trend of vaping among teenagers. The results, published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, painted a stark picture of adolescent mental health in Australia. Students reporting moderate or high stress were found to be 74% or 64% more likely to have experimented with vaping, respectively, compared to their peers with low stress levels. Interestingly, the study noted that anxiety levels showed little correlation with vape use, suggesting the need for a more nuanced understanding of how different mental health issues impact substance use. Associate Professor Emily Stockings of the University of Sydney, a co-author of the study, emphasized the critical intersection of mental health and vaping. "If we want to try to improve mental health and we want to try to prevent vaping, clearly, we've got to do these two things together," she stated, drawing attention to the intertwined nature of these concerns. The study also noted a worrying trend: the percentage of students in years 7 through 12 who reported having vaped in the past month has nearly quadrupled from 2017 to 2022/23. This rise parallels a statistic indicating that two-fifths of Australians aged 16 to 24 have experienced a mental disorder within the last year, underscoring the emerging public health crisis among youth. The paper revealed that about 8% of students aged 12 to 14 reported having ever tried vaping, while 2% had vaped in the last month. However, these figures soared for the older adolescent cohort of 12 to 15 years, with approximately 24% and 13% respectively, according to the nationwide Australian secondary students' alcohol and drug survey. Michelle Jongenelis, an associate professor at the University of Melbourne, stressed the importance of timely and effective mental health support for adolescents. "It’s a critical period for development [when] they have just started high school," she remarked. "We need to be doing a better job of ... supporting them so that they don’t turn to vapes to help with their anxiety or stress or depression." While the study’s findings are compelling, it did note certain limitations. Notably, only one in 20 students surveyed attended educationally disadvantaged schools, and public schools were not included in the survey. Stockings acknowledged that this omission may have overlooked insights from the most vulnerable and disadvantaged students. As part of the ongoing OurFutures program, researchers aim to gather further data through subsequent surveys, which will assess students’ understanding and avoidance of vaping after they complete training courses designed to educate them about the risks associated with vaping. The study ultimately adds to a growing body of research linking nicotine use to mental health issues among adolescents. However, the precise nature of the relationship between mental health and vaping remains an area for future exploration, underscoring the need for continued research and intervention initiatives to safeguard the wellbeing of young Australians.