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Public health survey: local middle and high school students show vaping initiation as young as elementary ages, educators plan outreach
Summary
Public health staff reported results from a vaping survey of 354 students and described education and outreach activities, including Muskyfest distribution and Red Ribbon Week materials focused on nicotine addiction and vaping harms.
Joyce Knowlton of Sawyer County Public Health presented a vaping-education initiative and survey results to the Human Services Committee. The survey received 354 student responses and showed that many students who vape reported starting at ages 11–13, and 20% of respondents who had tried vaping said they started between ages 5 and 10, according to Knowlton.
Survey results reported by public-health staff included frequency and substance estimates: 36% of students who vape said they use vapes one to three times a day and 27% said they vape more than 20 times a day. When students were asked what their vapes contained, 55% said nicotine, 20% said THC and 2% said meth. Knowlton noted that 99% of vapes contain nicotine and said some students mistakenly believed their products were nicotine-free.
Public-health educators said student education emphasized that vaping aerosols are not harmless water vapor, that vapes can contain far more nicotine than a pack of cigarettes, and that flavors are designed to appeal to youth. The department plans to distribute educational packets and small giveaways at Muskyfest and will produce a coloring book for younger students during Red Ribbon Week.
Knowlton said education also included information on quitting resources for teens, signs of addiction and the cognitive effects of nicotine on developing brains. Committee members asked questions about flavoring-related lung injuries (e.g., “popcorn lung”), and staff confirmed the education addressed flavoring risks.
No policy action was taken; the update was presented for information and outreach planning.
