Teen Vaping Increases

Vaping among America's teenagers continues to climb, while the use of other substances -- such as alcohol and opioids -- has declined in recent years, according to a new report. Monday's report, called Monitoring the Future, comes from the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research and is based on a survey of drug and alcohol use and attitudes among 8th-, 10th- and 12th-graders in the United States. This year's survey included 44,482 students from 392 public/private schools across the country. Although declining, alcohol was still the most used substance by teenagers. Behind drinking alcohol, vaping was the second-most common form of substance use, with 17.6% of eighth-graders, 32.3% of 10th-graders and 37.3% of 12th-graders reporting vaping in the past year (13.3% among eighth-graders, 23.9% among 10th-graders and 27.8% among 12th-graders last year). The increase is alarming but not surprising because of new products, such as those from popular e-cigarette maker Juul. The Monitoring the Future survey also asked students about vaping specific substances: nicotine, marijuana or “just flavoring.” Flavoring was the most commonly reported substance among eighth-graders, but there were increases in nicotine and marijuana. An issue of concern is that these devices are very efficient at delivering drugs rapidly into the brain and, in so doing, delivering the drugs (such as nicotine and marijuana) in ways that make them more addictive.

In Other News US publishing company Merriam-Webster has named “justice” its Word of the Year for 2018, after it saw a 74% spike in look-ups compared with 2017. "Justice" was among the most-consulted words on Merriam-Webster's website throughout the year, the company said, and saw jumps in search volume in the wake of numerous news stories. The move follows Oxford Dictionaries' decision to crown "toxic" its word of the year, and Dictionary.com's selection of "misinformation" as its winner. New York police said they performed a "wellness check" on "Saturday Night Live" cast member Pete Davidson after he posted an alarming note on Instagram on Saturday in which he said, “I really don't want to be on this earth anymore.” Davidson has been open about his mental health struggles in the past. This event as well as others puts a spotlight on the importance of recognizing potential warning signs when someone intends to end their life. Call 1-800-273-8255 to reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. It provides free and confidential support 24 hours a day, seven days a week for people in suicidal crisis or distress (information on its site also provides a guide on what to do if you see suicidal language on social media). You can also call 1-800-273-8255 to talk to someone about how you can help a person in crisis. For the TrevorLifeline, a suicide prevention counseling service for the LGBTQ community, call 1-866-488-7386. Text HOME to 741741 to have a confidential text conversation with a trained crisis counselor from Crisis Text Line. Counselors are available 24/7. For online chat, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline provides a confidential chat window, with counselors available 24/7. We also have resources here at Newtown (speak with a teacher or counselor for more information).