Vaping rises as teenage drinking and smoking falls

A PROMINENT Tyrone GP has said that while she is encouraged by statistics showing falling drug and alcohol abuse among teenagers, her optimism is tempered by the rising number of young people using vapes.

Dr Jo Deehan, an Omagh GP and Fermanagh and Omagh District councillor was speaking following the release of a new survey which measured young people’s attitudes to drugs and alcohol and which revealed that today’s teenagers are drinking, smoking and taking markedly less drugs that their peers of the past.

The figures, which were published by the Department of Health, suggested that only one in ten young people, aged between 11 and 16, have smoked, with only two per-cent being active smokers (smoking once a week or more).

In 2000, 37 per-cent of respondents admitted to having tried smoking, with 15 per-cent being categorised as active smokers.

Drinking trends among local teens have followed the same downward curve, with 31 per-cent of those who took part in the 2022 study saying they had taken a drink, compared to 59 per-cent in 2000.

Speaking with the Tyrone Herald, Dr Jo Deehan, welcomed the reduction in teenage drinking and smoking, however says she is ‘deeply concerned’ by the rising popularity of underage vaping.

“The first part of the report is great, but we have every reason to be deeply concerned by the number of young people taking up and becoming addicted to vaping,” she said.

“At the moment, we simply cannot quantify how much damage vaping is doing to people’s lungs.

“I would like to see the government and Public Health Agency intervene to implement measures and strategies to tackle the problem.”

Dr Deehan said she would like to measures imposed to prevent manufacturers from producing flavours and packaging that make vapes so appealing to young people.

“As well as that, I would think we need a concerted effort to really educate young people on the potential harm these things can cause.”

In addition to increasing efforts to discourage youth vaping, Dr Deehan believes there is still more work to be done to further prevent young people from drinking, smoking and taking drugs.

“As a local GP, it is quite rare to se 11 to 16-year-olds presenting with problems associated with drug and alcohol abuse.

“However, when users hit their early 20s, then they often start having to engage with services.”