Depression and anxiety symptoms linked to vaping nicotine and THC in teens and young adults

vaping

  • Approximately 70% of the THC-only vapers and 60% of the nicotine-only vapers and dual vapers reported experiencing anxiety symptoms—such as worries, flashbacks, panic attacks and situational anxieties— within the past week, compared to about 40% of participants who had never vaped.
  • Over half of the nicotine-only vapers, THC-only vapers and dual vapers reported experiencing symptoms of depression—such as difficulty engaging in or being interested in activities normally enjoyed, whether they felt that depression interfered with their ability to do the things they needed to do at work, at school or at home and whether depression interfered with their social life and relationships—within the past week, compared to 25% of non-vapers.
  • More than 50% of people in all vaping groups reported having suicidal thoughts within the past 12 months, compared to only one-third of the non-users.
  • About a quarter of the dual vapers and nicotine-only vapers started vaping nicotine to calm down or feel less stressed, and one-third of participants in both groups reported that they currently vaped nicotine to cope with feelings of anxiety. In contrast, about half of THC-only vapers started vaping THC and currently vaped THC to relieve anxiety symptoms.
  • Around 20% of nicotine-only vapers and dual vapers started vaping to help feel less depressed and currently vaped for this reason. About one-third of THC-only vapers started vaping THC and nearly half currently vaped TCH to feel less depressed.

Source: Read Full Article