According to a report by News-Medical.Net on September 2nd, a study on e-cigarette behavior among Australian high school students found that students with severe depressive symptoms were more than twice as likely to try e-cigarettes compared to students without depressive symptoms.
Research data indicates that students with poor overall mental health (including severe depressive symptoms, moderate to high levels of stress, and low levels of happiness) have a higher prevalence of using e-cigarettes.
These data are from the "OurFutures Vaping Trial." This is Australia's first and currently only school-based e-cigarette prevention program clinical trial, aimed at rigorously testing whether it can prevent Australian adolescents from starting to use e-cigarettes. The study surveyed more than 5,000 7th and 8th grade students from 40 schools in New South Wales, Queensland, and Western Australia between May and October 2023.
Among the 5,157 students involved in the study, 8.3% reported having used e-cigarettes. Students who reported moderate levels of stress were 74% more likely to use e-cigarettes, while those reporting high levels of stress were 64% more likely to use e-cigarettes. Students with low levels of happiness were 105% more likely to use e-cigarettes compared to those with high levels of happiness. No correlation was found between anxiety symptoms and e-cigarette use.
Matilda Center Associate Professor and co-author Emily Stockings stated that...
Although not explored in our study, this relationship may be explained by common social, environmental, and genetic risk factors, or it could point to some form of self-medication behavior.
In the short term, nicotine may reduce feelings of anxiety and stress, leading young people to use e-cigarettes as a coping mechanism. It is evident that whether mental health issues lead to e-cigarette use or vice versa, to prevent youth from starting to use e-cigarettes, we need to address mental health issues simultaneously.
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