Teen Vaping and Marijuana Use: What Current Research Shows and How Schools Should Respond
The evidence supports concern—but the latest broad surveillance does not show a universal increase in adolescent vaping or marijuana use. A school can still be experiencing a genuine local increase because national and state averages can hide concentrated peer-network effects, repeated incidents, school-day use, product substitution, or improved detection.
WHAT CURRENT DATA SHOW
• U.S. high school students reporting current e-cigarette use fell to 7.1% in 2025, from 14.1% in 2022.
• Across middle and high school students, current use of any tobacco product was 7.2% in 2025—about 2.01 million students.
• Nicotine pouch use among high school students rose to 2.3% in 2025, from 1.4% in 2022, demonstrating why schools should monitor product substitution.
• SAMHSA’s 2024 national survey found that 6.0% of youth ages 12–17 used marijuana in the past month, with no statistically significant change from 2021. Among adolescents currently using marijuana, 71.1% reported vaping it in the past month.
• Preliminary Connecticut 2025 YRBS results reported current electronic vapor product use at 5.4% and current marijuana use at 8.0%.
• Connecticut’s 2023 tobacco report found that 11.5% of high school students currently used electronic vapor products. Among current users, 31.4% used them daily, 54.2% used them on school property, and 69.1% vaped cannabis. Overall, 9.8% of Connecticut high school students reported vaping cannabis, and 49.2% of past-year tobacco users tried to quit.
The correct conclusion is nuanced: broad rates are generally declining or stable, but nicotine and cannabis exposure remain consequential; vaping is an important route of cannabis use; and local school conditions can differ materially from statewide averages.
WHY A SCHOOL MAY STILL SEE AN INCREASE
Incident counts are not prevalence estimates. Schools should distinguish total events from unique students and track nicotine vapes, cannabis vapes or concentrates, edibles, nicotine pouches, and dual use separately. Increased detection can reflect better enforcement, while repeated use by a smaller group can raise incidents even when overall prevalence is falling. Frequency and intensity may also worsen while the number of students using declines.
A PRACTICAL COUNSELING APPROACH
1. Establish safety and privacy. Explain confidentiality and its limits before asking sensitive questions.
2. Screen specifically. Ask about product, route, frequency, source, setting, last use, and co-use. Validated options include CRAFFT 2.1 and S2BI, used by trained personnel within school policy and referral procedures.
3. Assess severity and immediate risk. Explore craving, withdrawal, tolerance, unsuccessful quit attempts, driving or riding with an impaired driver, school functioning, and co-occurring anxiety, depression, trauma symptoms, psychosis, or suicidality.
4. Use motivational interviewing. Adopt a calm, nonjudgmental stance; ask permission; reflect the student’s perspective; develop discrepancy between goals and use; elicit the student’s own reasons for change; and avoid arguing.
5. Build a concrete change plan. Identify triggers, replacement coping strategies, trusted adults, refusal language, ways to reduce access, and what the student will do after a lapse.
6. Coordinate care. Involve caregivers, the school nurse, primary care, and outside behavioral-health or substance-use treatment when appropriate and permitted.
7. Follow up. Schedule brief check-ins and treat lapses as useful information—not moral failure.
A MULTITIERED PREVENTION MODEL
Tier 1—Universal prevention: Provide annual evidence-based lessons with booster sessions; teach accurate product literacy, correct exaggerated peer-use norms, build refusal, coping, and self-advocacy skills, train staff to recognize products and respond consistently, and communicate clear policies to families.
Tier 2—Early intervention: Offer two to four brief 20–30 minute sessions, with follow-ups around two and four weeks. Use motivational interviewing, individualized feedback, a written change plan, caregiver engagement when appropriate, and cessation support.
Tier 3—Specialty care: Refer students for comprehensive assessment or treatment when there is daily or near-daily use, withdrawal, repeated failed quit attempts, intoxication at school, impaired driving, serious academic or behavioral decline, psychosis, suicidality, or polysubstance use. Evidence-supported adolescent cannabis treatments include motivational enhancement therapy combined with cognitive behavioral therapy, family-based approaches, adolescent community reinforcement, and contingency management. Nicotine medication decisions belong to a qualified medical clinician; no cessation medication is FDA-approved specifically for minors, although pediatric clinicians may consider selected cases.
DISCIPLINE AND SUPPORT
Schools need clear policies and proportionate consequences, but suspension alone does not address dependence, triggers, mental-health concerns, or access. Pair accountability with screening, brief counseling, cessation support, restorative steps, caregiver engagement, and follow-up monitoring.
FAMILY ENGAGEMENT
Lead with observable facts rather than accusations. Encourage calm, direct conversations; clear expectations and monitoring; attention to product storage and access; recognition of withdrawal symptoms; and warm referrals that help families connect with care rather than simply receive a phone number.
A 90-DAY SCHOOL ACTION PLAN
First 30 days: Form a cross-disciplinary team; define each product and incident category; create a simple dashboard; identify referral partners; and confirm emergency procedures.
Days 31–60: Conduct an anonymous student survey; train counselors in validated screening and motivational interviewing; and train all staff in identification, documentation, and referral.
Days 61–90: Deliver universal lessons and caregiver communication; launch a brief Tier 2 intervention; and establish warm-referral pathways for higher-risk students.
Quarterly: Review prevalence, days used, school-day use, unique students, repeat events, product source, perceived norms, quit attempts, referral completion, and equity patterns. Use the data to adjust services—not to label students.
CONCLUSION
Current national and Connecticut surveillance generally shows declining youth vaping and stable or declining marijuana use—not a simple across-the-board uptrend. Yet a local problem can be real, especially where vaping cannabis, frequent use, school-property use, and emerging nicotine products are concerned. The strongest response is evidence-based, multi-tiered, supportive, and safety-focused: accurate prevention for all students, early intervention for emerging risk, coordinated treatment for higher need, and disciplined local measurement.
SOURCES
FDA, Results from the Annual National Youth Tobacco Survey (2025):
National Youth Tobacco Survey 2025, Nicotine & Tobacco Research:
https://academic.oup.com/ntr/advance-article/doi/10.1093/ntr/ntag116/8712569
Connecticut 2025 YRBS Preliminary Summary:
https://portal.ct.gov/dph/-/media/dph/cshs/cshs-2025/2025cth-summary-graphs.pdf
Connecticut 2023 Youth Tobacco Report:
SAMHSA, 2024 National Survey on Drug Use and Health:
Monitoring the Future 1975–2025:
https://monitoringthefuture.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/mtfvol12026.pdf
School E-Cigarette Prevention Meta-Analysis:
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-024-01730-6
USPSTF, Tobacco and Nicotine Prevention in Children and Adolescents:
American Academy of Pediatrics Tobacco and Nicotine Policy:
https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2023-061805
SAMHSA, Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment:
https://www.samhsa.gov/substance-use/treatment/sbirt
Treatment of Adolescent Cannabis Use Disorders:
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10097012/
NIDA, Principles of Adolescent Substance Use Disorder Treatment:
CRAFFT Screening Tool:
Prepared by Darrick Bell, CAGS, MAEP
Bell Educational Consulting and Mentoring Services, LLC
Educational Information Disclaimer: This resource is provided for general educational and informational purposes. It is not medical, mental health, legal, or diagnostic advice and does not replace evaluation or treatment by a qualified professional.
© 2026 Bell Educational Consulting and Mentoring Services, LLC. All rights reserved. No reproduction, redistribution, republication, or commercial use without prior written permission.
