Minnesota Survey: One in Five High School Students Uses Vapes

The 2020 Minnesota Youth Tobacco Survey also found that 70% of middle and high school students who use e-cigarettes showed signs of nicotine dependence. Conducted by the Minnesota Department of Health, the survey is designed to provide information on youth use of commercial tobacco and to help design and evaluate prevention efforts.

According to the new data, 19% of high school students and 3% of middle school students are current e-cigarette users, while 34% of high school students and 8% of middle school students said they had tried e-cigarettes at some point. Compared with 2017, this did not represent a statistically significant increase.

The data showed that four out of five Minnesota students reported that the first tobacco product they tried was flavored. Overall tobacco use among high school and middle school students who had used a tobacco product in the past 30 days fell to 20.5% and 4.1%, respectively, down from 26.4% and 5.2% in 2017.

Meanwhile, last December, the federal government raised the minimum tobacco sales age from 18 to 21. In response, Minnesota lawmakers said adopting the same law statewide would help eliminate confusion among retailers, according to Laura Smith, senior public affairs manager for ClearWay Minnesota, a nonprofit organization dedicated to reducing tobacco use. The Tobacco 21 law was passed by the legislature and signed by Governor Tim Walz last May, bringing Minnesota state law into alignment with federal and local tobacco laws.

Sen. Carla Nelson, R-Rochester, who has long advocated for raising the age limit, said the main goal of the new legislation is to prevent youth vaping and the nicotine addiction that can follow. In fact, research shows that younger brains are more vulnerable to addiction.