A shift appears to be taking place for consumers from traditional tobacco products to e-cigarettes or vaping devices.
An analysis done by the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association found that emergency room visits where vaping is documented during the patient diagnosis process has dramatically increased in recent years. There has also been a decline in the number of patients who report using traditional tobacco products like cigarettes or chewing tobacco.
The analysis showed that the number of emergency visits involving patients who vape have more than doubled from 2020 to 2023, from 26,630 to 49,356.
In 2020, visits in which vaping was recorded as a tobacco-related diagnosis among patients accounted for just 4.2 percent of emergency room visits. By the end of 2023, vaping was diagnosed in 10.9 percent of visits, a more than twofold increase over four years.
Meanwhile, the number of emergency department visits in which patients were diagnosed with traditional tobacco use dropped 25.4 percent between 2020 and 2023. Conventional tobacco products still account for the majority of hospital visits with a tobacco or vaping-related diagnosis.
Vaping among students
Augusta County Public Schools are seeing a similar trend with the superintendent recently pointing to vaping as a major problem in schools.
Dr. Eric Bond brought up e-cigarettes as a concern at a recent community meeting discussing the possible removal of cell phones from classrooms.
Bond agreed that it’s likely a good idea to remove phones but also pointed to vaping as another addiction that needs to be addressed with schools.
The Virginia Department of Health reports that since 2014, e-cigarettes are the most commonly used tobacco product among U.S. middle and high school students.
Dating back to 2019, the Blue Ridge Poison Center has expressed concerns about lung illnesses that appear to be linked to vaping. Symptoms include fever, nausea and vomiting as well as shortness of breath, cough and chest pain, possibly linked to THC. Vaping has been connected to severe lung illness primarily among teens and young adults with more than 2,100 cases reported to date across the country, according to the VDH.
Schools on their own can’t solve the addiction problems, Bond argued, saying additional funds are needed to combat the crisis.
“We’re tackling students who are, you know, they’re unraveling,” Bond said pointing to a heightened sense of anxiety among teens.
“The reality is that the school is expected to address every single thing,” Bond said. “We’re addressing addictions to nicotine, vaping, and now, we’re addressing the addiction of cell phones. It takes equal resources. It takes financial resources. It’s a very heavy lift.”
Related stories
Virginia: Schools cell phone ban would separate students from an addiction
Department of Health confirms first Virginia vaping death
Share
Crystal Graham
