Hawaii: Majority of Teen Vapers Are Girls

As smoking rates amongst teens in Hawaii have dropped, vaping rates have risen, and according to the Department of Health’s 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, the majority of teen vapers are girls.

Diane Caruana

January 28, 2022

2019 data revealed that a total of 33.9% of female high school students vaped in the past 30 days, compared to 27.4% of males.

A total of 33.9% of female high school students vaped in the past 30 days, compared to 27.4% of males, revealed the 2019 survey data. Moreover, the percentage of female middle school students who vaped in the previous 30 days was also higher, at 20.2% to 15.2%.

An article on Civil Beat aimed to discuss the possible reasons for this data, however it failed to consider some key factors that keep being highlighted by research. A recent study from the University of Michigan, suggested that as was the case with cigarette smoking in the past, the main motivator behind teen vaping is the “cool” factor derived from using e-cigarettes, not the availability of flavours or the devices themselves.

Another study of high school seniors in the U.S., found that teens who are less satisfied with their lives and seek out risky and exciting experiences, are the ones more likely to use multiple substances regularly, including tobacco and vaping products. Additionally, found this study, the participants’ attitude towards vaping also reflected how they viewed other substances.

E-cig use has dropped by a third among US teens

Other recent studies found that personality factors (high neuroticism) and curiosity, played a main role in enticing teenagers to initiate vaping. This reflects arguments by tobacco harm reduction experts, who have long been pointing out that the existence of flavours is not the main motivator for teens to take up vaping. Those who are likely to vape, would be smoking in the absence of the safer alternatives.

This means that while girls in Hawaii are vaping more than their male counterparts, the males may still be more inclined towards cigarettes. In fact many public health experts keep highlighting that vaping rates should always be measured in comparison to smoking rates, especially given all the official data indicating the relative safety (again, when compared to cigarettes) of vape devices.

Meanwhile, the 2020 National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS) conducted by researchers at the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), had clearly indicated that e-cigarette use amongst teens has dropped by a third across the US. Carried out between January 16th and March 16th, the school-based survey indicated that 19.6% of high school students (3.02 million) reported e-cigarette use, down from 27.5% (4.11 million) in 2019. Amongst middle school students the figure dropped aswell, from 10.5% (1.24 million) in 2019, to 4.7% (550 000).