Study: Troubled Teens Likely to Start Vaping

A new study has found that Australian high school students with symptoms of severe depression or poor well-being are twice as likely to have tried vaping.

The study also found one-fifth of students in 7th and 8th grade had moderate to severe depression symptoms and demonstrated the need for early intervention targeting both mental health and vaping, experts said.

In 2023, more than 5,000 students aged 12 to 14 were surveyed for the study as part of the OurFutures vaping prevention program led by the University of Sydney’s Matilda Centre, according to media reports.

The results, published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, showed one-third of the cohort reported poor well-being, another third had high stress, and one-fifth had high anxiety.

Students who reported moderate or high stress levels were 74% or 64% more likely to have tried vaping, respectively, than those who reported low levels of stress, though anxiety levels seemed to have little relationship with vape use.

According to Michelle Jongenelis, an associate professor at the University of Melbourne, the results demonstrated the importance of early effective mental health support for young teenagers.

The study added to previous research suggesting a connection between nicotine use and mental health issues but could not offer an explanation as data was drawn from a single point in time.