If You Think Nicotine And THC Vaping Is Relieving Your Depression You Should Read This Survey

A survey of more than 2,500 teens and young adults led by the American Heart Association found that vaping nicotine and THC, the psychoactive component in marijuana, was associated with self-reported symptoms of depression and anxiety. Previous studies have identified links between vaping and symptoms of both anxiety and depression among young adults.

“Younger people have long been vulnerable to tobacco use, may experience greater harm from nicotine and other drugs and may be targeted by tobacco advertisers and marketers,” stated study author Joy Hart, Ph.D., a professor of communication at the University of Louisville in Kentucky.

The researchers, several of whom work for the Association, conducted an online survey among 2,505 teens and young adults, ages 13-24, to gauge mental health differences among nicotine-only vapers, THC-only vapers, dual vapers of both nicotine and THC and people who had never vaped any product. The study was focused on 1,921 people who had never vaped or were current vapers, defined as having vaped in the past 30 days. Of those participants, 562 individuals reported they had never vaped, 370 had vaped only nicotine, 159 had vaped only THC, and 830 were dual vapers of nicotine and THC.

Study Findings

• 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.

Dual vapers were significantly more likely than nicotine-only vapers to indicate addiction to nicotine, which was defined in this study as behavior such as waking up at night to vape. Dual vapers of nicotine and THC were also significantly more likely to say they felt less depressed after they started vaping, whereas nicotine-only vapers were more likely to report that vaping had no impact on their feelings of depression. This may be related to dual users’ stronger addiction to these products, rather than the positive impacts of the products on their mental health, the researchers said.

Study Limitations

The study had limitations: the use of cross-sectional data did not allow researchers to assess whether symptoms of anxiety and depression, as well as suicidal thoughts, were caused or exacerbated by the use of the THC and nicotine vapes, or whether the existence of those symptoms had an effect on the use of the vape products; collecting online data via a web-based panel meant that participants may not be representative of all U.S. teens and young adults; and the data were self-reported.

Additional co-authors are Jeffrey Willett, Ph.D.; Allison Groom, M.A.; Robyn L. Landry; Angel Bassett, M.A.; Mary Dunn, Ph.D.; Kandi Walker, Ph.D.; Thomas Payne, Ph.D.; and Anshula Kesh, M.P.H., B.D.S. The study was funded by a grant from the Kaiser Permanente National Community Benefit Fund at the East Bay Community Foundation.

Photo by Chiara Summer on Unsplash