Idaho Teens Vaping Twice the Rate of National Average

One in five Idaho 13-to-19-year-olds is vaping regularly, according to a new Idaho-based survey that places Idaho’s youth vaping rate at twice the national average.

The survey, conducted by Boise-based Rathbone Falvey Research on behalf of Idaho Public Television (IdahoPTV), was designed to measure the effectiveness of IdahoPTV’s youth anti-vaping campaign, KNOW VAPE  Be Smart, Don’t Start. Ads warn kids about the dangerous health consequences of youth vaping and how vape companies are manipulating teens to become addicted to the nicotine-based devices.

“We wanted to find out if kids could recall the Be Smart, Don’t Start advertising campaign, but we also wanted to understand kids’ behaviors and attitudes surrounding vaping,” says Jennie Sue Weltner, executive producer of IdahoPTV’s KNOW VAPE campaign.  

2024 survey insights include: 

• One in three Idaho teens has tried vaping.
• Boys and girls are both affected by this issue. Data shows that girls often vape at a much higher frequency.
• Vaping rates are higher in Southwest and South Central Idaho than in the north and eastern regions of the state. 
• Most kids try vaping for the first time at ages 13 to 16.
• About a third of Idaho teens have positive attitudes about vaping. 

Idaho has not surveyed teens about vaping behavior since the 2021 Idaho Youth Risk Behavior Survey administered by the Idaho Department of Education, which showed that one in five kids had tried vaping. 

“Knowing that the vaping rate among Idaho youth is higher than previously understood and much higher than the national average should be a cause for alarm in our families, communities and schools,” says Weltner.

"As both a researcher and a mom in Idaho, these numbers are deeply concerning," says Vina Rathbone, CEO of Rathbone Falvey Research. "When one in five teens is regularly vaping, we're not just looking at statistics—we're looking at a generation of Idaho kids at risk for unknown future health issues and nicotine addiction. "

Lured by flavors and easy-to-disguise and -hide devices, kids get easily addicted due to the high levels of nicotine found in almost all vapes. 

Vape manufacturers have been illegally marketing to youth since 2015. In 2022, Idaho was part of a $438.5 million settlement with Altria Group and vape manufacturer Juul Labs. In 2022, Idaho received $8.3 million as part of the settlement, the result of a two-year investigation into Juul's marketing and sales practices. The investigation found that Juul marketed its products to underage users through advertisements, social media posts, and free samples. The Juul settlement and other tobacco settlement dollars are placed in Idaho’s Millennium Fund, which funds tobacco and nicotine cessation and prevention efforts like Project Filter and Be Smart, Don’t Start.  

“Although the survey results showed that the KNOW VAPE campaign has high recall and kids know vaping is bad for their health, we have a lot more work to do to get the message out to kids and parents about the dangers and highly addictive nature of youth vaping,” says Weltner. 

The survey anonymously collected data from 630 Idaho 13-to-19-year-olds from every region of the state representing a 95% confidence interval and 3.9% margin of error. All responses were obtained digitally from Sept. 6 to Oct. 18, 2024. 

What are vapes?

Vapes are a form of electronic cigarettes that use a battery to heat a liquid solution to a high temperature, producing an aerosol that is inhaled. Originating in China, most vapes contain large amounts of nicotine and cancer-causing chemicals and metals. Health experts say that vaping causes brain, lung and bone damage in developing bodies. Health experts in Idaho have reported treating children as young as 7 years old for vape related injuries.  

Media Contacts:

About Idaho Public Television

An entity of the Idaho State Board of Education, Idaho Public Television is a statewide multimedia network with transmitters and translator stations that reach nearly 100 percent of all Idaho households with free over-the-air broadcast signals. IdahoPTV broadcasts across five digital channels through five full-power transmitters (KAID, Boise; KCDT, Coeur d’Alene; KIPT, Twin Falls; KISU, Pocatello; and KUID, Moscow) and offers streaming content and educational resources through its website: idahoptv.org. IdahoPTV is among the most-watched PBS affiliate networks per capita in the United States. The mission of Idaho Public Television is to “harness the power of public media to encourage lifelong learning, connect our communities, and enrich the lives of all Idahoans. We tell Idaho's stories.”