E-cigarettes have seen a rise in popularity among the population in general, but even more significant in young adults, and vaping marijuana is becoming a habit among teenagers, which means that a potentially unhealthy habit has been upped.
Researchers at the Oberlin College in Ohio have seen to conducting a survey on nearly 4,000 high school students in Connecticut by questioning them on their smoking habits regarding the use of electronic cigarettes. In 2014, 13.4% of teenagers have admitted to using e-cigarettes within the month before the study, three times higher than the 4.5% in 2013.
It seems to be growing in popularity, but a new study has uncovered that they are pulling away from the conventional uses and that high school students have begun using hash oil or dry leaves. According to the study’s author, Meghan Morean, vaporized cannabis can be much stronger than when it’s smoked, which provides amplified potential health risks.
Among all the study’s participants, 27.9% have stated to have used e-cigarettes at some point, a device that is quickly seeing an increase among both smokers and non-smokers across the nation, in spite of the fact that e-cigarette use is twice as likely to lead to regular cigarettes in comparison with those who refuse all types of smoking.
Separately from the aforementioned percentage, 29.2% have admitted to trying marijuana, but around 18.8% in total have claimed to have tried both e-cigarettes and cannabis individually, at some point in their life. However, 26.5% of that group, dubbed “twin customers”, have tried mixing them together, 29% with dry leaves and 23% with hash oil.
The researchers have admitted to not knowing if this growing trend might draw more students to trying marijuana, but there is a possibility that it could. If one continues to grow in popularity, it is likely that its use will become much more varied, and it could perhaps develop in increased consumption of marijuana.
However, the habit has not yet been prove if it’s more or less harmful than regular vaping, considering quite a lot of the consequences of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) are still unknown to researchers. It could have potentially severe effects after long-term use in the developing brain structures of young adults, though concrete proof has not been found.
Morean has stated that perhaps the draw to vaping hash as opposed to smoking it might be that it would be much more difficult to detect. The odor would be much less pungent and it would be challenging for anyone around to tell, be it parents, teachers or other adults.
Image source: whatsyourvapetemp.com
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