Teenagers are clear on the dangers of cigarette smoking, but the messages they get about e-cigarettes and marijuana come less often and are often incorrect, according to a small study by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine in California.
Researchers studied 24 adolescents (nine girls, 15 boys) who attended high school in a Northern California school district known to have high rates of substance use.
They asked the students in small-group discussions about the risks and benefits of cigarettes, e-cigarettes, and marijuana and how they learned about these products. The findings were published online June 23 in the Journal of Adolescent Health.
Sources of information reported by the students varied for the three products. For cigarettes, the messages came primarily from parents, teachers, and the media. Marijuana information often came from peers, along with pressure to use it, and the teenagers got little information anywhere about e-cigarettes, with some of it coming from relatives using them to try to quit traditional cigarettes.
E-Cigarette, Marijuana Risks Unclear to Teenagers
So… clearly this shows we should educate them, then? I’m not sure what message this article is trying to convey.