The long term effects of new nicotine products are still unknown, especially in youth, but they are still highly addictive.
The results from the 2025 Annual National Youth Tobacco Survey show that youth tobacco use has been dropping over the last three years. On a national level, 7.2% of students reported current use of tobacco products, with e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches being the most commonly used.
Lisa Sheretz with Northern Nevada Public Health said she sees these trends reflected in Nevada youth as well. And while declining use is good, the products middle and high schoolers are most likely to use haven’t been around very long.
“These are fairly new products in the great scheme of long term studies of the effects,” she said. “So we don't have conclusive long term, 20 years, 30 years. How have these affected our kids? We don't know yet.”
Sheretz said that nicotine speeds up the heart and tightens the circulatory system. It’s like a car sitting at a stop light and revving the engine, but not going anywhere. It’s expected this will cause wear and tear on the heart, and cause some of those long-term health effects public health professionals are keeping an eye out for.
But in the short term, Sheretz said we do know that nicotine products like vapes are highly addictive. She said kids should be taught about addiction when they’re young.
“Elementary school is not too early to start talking about nicotine addiction, how it controls you,” she said.
According to Nevada’s annual Youth Risk Behavior Survey, one third of high school students in Nevada have used e-cigarettes. Nicotine pouches are small and easily hidden from teachers and parents. But there are resources available for people who want to stop using nicotine products, including youth. Sheretz recommended the Truth Initiative and My Life, My Quit.
But she said the best way to lower tobacco use in Nevada and the rest of the country is to fund tobacco control programs.
