LOUISVILLE- Kentucky teens say e-cigarette use among peers is rampant, and parents are mostly unaware. 

Kentucky Youth Advocates and the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky conducted a series of focus groups in Clay, Jefferson, McCracken, Monroe and Campbell Counties, of students in 9th through 12th grade about their knowledge, perception, and usage of e-cigarettes in their schools. The focus group revealed that the vast majority of students have tried e-cigarettes and parents are mostly unaware about the problem. 

"I'm the only person I know that hasn't hit on a Juul. I've probably seen it three times today in the classroom," one of the students interview said. 

"People think that since they were made to help get people off cigarettes it means they're not harmful," another student said. 

These perceptions have caused the use of e-cigarettes to soar in teens, despite the number of youth cigarette smoking declining--introducing a new generation of teens to nicotine. 

"E-cig use is rampant, e-cig use is unregulated, and unless we as a commonwealth treat e-cigs as the health threat it is in 2038, Kentucky is still going to be the cancer capital of the nation" said Dr. Terry Brooks, Executive Director of Kentucky Youth Advocates. "what did we hear from kids? We heard that they are not only a rampant use of e-cigs, but there is an accelerating growth, in literally recent months of e-cigs."

To help combat the increasing use of e-cigarettes, the Foundation and Kentucky Youth Advocates recommend four policy measures:

  • Include e-cigarettes in all local smoke-free ordinances and tobacco-free school policies
  • Add a state tax on e-cigarettes that is equal to the tobacco tax rate on traditional cigarettes 
  • Prohibit the sale of flavored liquids for e-cigarettes
  • Allow localities to enact stricter controls than the state on all tobacco and e-cigarette products

"Kentucky just can't afford to addict another generation to tobacco products, and the fact that youth e-cig use is often a gateway to cigarette smoking makes immediate action imperative," said Ben Chandler, president and CEO of the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky. "Kids may think e-cigs are safe for them to use, but they're not." 

Currently, 28 communities include e-cigarettes in their smoke-free ordinances and 52 school districts include e-cigarettes in their tobacco-free policies.