Discussing Use of Vaping Among Students, Conversations About Vaccines

As the back-to-school season begins this fall, many educators as well as health care professionals are already discussing the conversations between themselves and parents of schoolchildren regarding lung health and awareness of healthy lifestyle choices.

In addition to covering the rising rates of pediatric allergy and asthma among students this year, the latest episode of Lungcast featured a conversation between host Albert Rizzo, MD, chief medical officer of the American Lung Association (ALA), Juanita Mora, MD, chief executive officer of the Chicago Allergy Center, and S. Christy Sadreameli, MD, assistant professor of pediatrics at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Sadreameli and Mora are allergic and pulmonary disease experts.

Sadreameli and Mora were asked by Rizzo about the current proliferation of e-cigarettes among children and teenagers in schools today. They highlighted their views on the dangers of vaping and their widespread utilization.

“I this it’s an epidemic, and I definitely believe that as physicians, every single day, we're fighting this,” Mora explained. “At the American Lung Association, I cannot tell you how many parents I see about this…It's so important for them to talk to their kids about vaping before they even get to seventh and eighth grade, because they're starting younger and younger. They found stocks of all e-cigarettes in bathrooms, in middle schools and high schools. If we don't start talking to the kids early on, then they won't know what the dangers are.”

Mora noted that having the conversation about vaping and asthma exacerbations is critical, given the dangers toward students with asthma and their lack of awareness. Sadreameli echoed these sentiments, noting that she has also seen it in her practice.

“Some people may not realize they're harming their lungs until they're a bit older,” Sadreameli said. “So the bottom line is, there's so much misinformation out there about vaping and e-cigarette use. We know that, unfortunately, use is very common among youth. Even though the rates have varied over the past few years, we've had some ups and downs. It is still way too high, and it's really a sad story, because we were really winning the battle against big tobacco with our youth.”

Rizzo also asked the 2 experts about having discussions with parents about vaccinations, especially given rates of vaccine use in recent years and the spread of potential misinformation.

“Well, one of the things we know is that we saw a decrease in immunization rates in children after the pandemic,” Mora said. “And the reason is because through the pandemic, a lot of pediatricians' offices were closed for routine immunization, so these kids weren't taken. So then we had a lag.”

Mora added that there were also lags in immunizations for diseases that had essentially been wiped out, such as whooping cough and the measles.

“I think things like flu vaccinations, COVID vaccinations, these annual vaccines, they're extra important for our patients with asthma,” Sadreameli added. “You know, we've known for a long time that getting your flu shot each year can reduce their risk of hospitalization. We actually recommend this for all people and for all kids. But if someone has asthma, they're even more at risk for a hospitalization from flu or COVID. With the flu, we've seen really bad stuff over the years. So I try to share those experiences with families, and hopefully it helps.”

To learn more, view the interview segment posted above this description.

Lungcast is a monthly respiratory news podcast series hosted by Albert Rizzo, MD, chief medical officer of the ALA, and produced by HCPLive.

Subscribe to Lungcast on Spotify here, or listen to the episode below.