How your child’s vaping could be a sign of an underlying mental health problem

DOES your child vape?

Chances are unless you’ve caught them in the act, it may be kept from you.

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Kids are more at risk of vaping if they have mental health worries, a study suggests[/caption]

But a new study has shed light on what may lead youngsters to try e-cigs in the first place.

Scientists looked at data from over 5,000 kids in Year 7 and 8 (12 to 14-year-olds) from 40 schools in New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia in 2023.

Some 8.3 per cent of adolescents reported having used e-cigarettes before, according to the findings in the Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry.

Vaping was 74 per cent higher for students who reported moderate stress, and 64 per cent higher for people who reported high levels of stress.

It was also twice as common for students who reported low well being compared to high well being.

Depressed kids were also more likely to vape.

Youngsters who reported severe symptoms were over twice as likely to have tried vapes, compared to those with no history of depression, the findings show.

Anxiety symptoms showed no correlation.

Researchers from OurFutures Vaping Trial say mental ill-health and vaping are both increasing among young people.

Co-lead on the project Dr Lauren Gardner, from the University of Sydney’s Matilda Centre, said: “More research is needed to understand the complex relationship between mental health and vaping, however these findings highlight the urgent need for prevention and early intervention approaches, backed by evidence, to support both the short- and long-term health and wellbeing of young people.”

The Matilda Centre previously found the average age a teenager in Australia begins to vape is 14.

Co-author associate professor, Dr Emily Stockings said: “In the short term, nicotine may reduce feelings of anxiety and stress, and young people may be reaching for vapes as a coping mechanism.

“Regardless of whether mental ill-health influences smoking or vice-versa, it is clear that if we are to prevent vaping onset, we need to address mental health at the same time.”

In the UK, almost one in five 11 to 17-year-olds had tried vaping in 2024.

The figure is stable since 2023 but has risen from 13.9 per cent in 2020.

The most common reason for vaping was ‘Just to give it a try’ (35 per cent), while 7.3 per cent said ‘I think it helps me with stress or my mental health’, according to The ASH Smokefree GB Youth Survey.

When it comes to adults, one in 10 are now long-term vapers – more than six months – according to research by University College London.

Health experts say vaping is safer than smoking and an important way for addicts to quit, but may be risky for never-smokers.