FARGO — According to Forbes Advisor, 13.5% of young adults in North Dakota vape some days and 16.4% vape every day, topping the list for young adult vaping nationwide.
According to the Forbes study, e-cigarette usage among 18-24-year-olds in North Dakota increased 15.1 percentage points between 2017 and 2022, compared to the study’s average increase of 9.8 percentage points.
Pat McKone, senior director of public policy and advocacy for the American Lung Association, refers to the afflicted demographic as "the Juul generation." McKone described "the Juul generation" as the generation who experienced the proliferation of flavorful e-cigarettes with high nicotine levels, such as Juul, when the national legal age for purchasing e-cigarettes was 18. McKone said the age group became easily addicted to fruit-flavored e-cigarettes, elevating nicotine use among many young adults.
Many of the popular e-cigarettes at the time contained more nicotine than a pack a cigarettes, leading to serious health damage, such as outbreaks of EVALI (e-cigarette, or vaping, product use associated lung injury). In recent years, e-cigarette companies have faced repercussions for targeting younger generations with a wide variety of fruity flavors. Many states, including Minnesota and North Dakota, have pursued settlements to hold these companies accountable for marketing products to young people.
McKone said that 18-24-year-olds are still suffering the consequences of increased e-cigarette usage and .
