Have you ever wondered where youth get their vaping products, especially since the minimum legal age to purchase these products is 21? Some recent state and local data is helping us understand some of the answers to this question.

The largest source of vaping products among youth comes from their peer network. This includes borrowing their vaping device from someone else or having a friend purchase the product for them. Outside of their peer network, local stores and other retail locations are a primary source for underage teenagers to get ahold of e-cigarettes. This is very important because we know that nicotine exposure at an early age can lead to addiction, as well as asthma and other lung conditions from repeated use.

Underage Sales in Medina County

Business retailers play an important role in preventing youth from buying their products. The Medina County Health Department recently completed our 2023 tobacco retail compliance checks. Compliance checks verify that retailers are not selling tobacco products to anyone under the age of 21. Last year, the Medina County Health Department completed 25 compliance checks. This year the number of gas stations, vape shops, and grocery stores increased to 64 total stores across the county. 79% of retailers visited did not sell tobacco products to the underage buyer. While we applaud the majority of stores that did not sell to the underage purchaser, 21% of stores still did. This mirrors similar data that the retail location is still one of the primary sources of tobacco products for underage youth.

Brunswick and Medina had the most stores checked with 20 and 19 respectively. In 2022, only retailers in Brunswick received compliance checks. The rate of non-compliance last year in Brunswick was 28% (7 out of 25), whereas this year it was 15% (3 out of 20).

What You Can Do

At home, provide education to your kids about the dangers of nicotine and the health effects it has. There are many great tips on how to talk to your kids about vaping. At school, ask about the tobacco policies and encourage school leadership to adopt a comprehensive tobacco-free school policy.

If your child uses vaping products, help them to quit by providing them with support and the resources available to them. For counseling, call 1-800-QUIT-NOW: a toll-free number where your child will be connected with a coach who will help guide them to quit vaping.

Because vaping is a growing concern, policy options are an important way to reduce youth vaping. As a parent or community member, you can support policy options in your local area. Some of these options might include requiring retail establishments to have a license to sell tobacco products, creating tobacco-free environments, and limiting marketing and advertising, especially to youth.

Services are partially funded by your local health levy. This institution is an equal opportunity provider.

Access Points Graph data source: 2021 Ohio Health Youth Environments Survey. https://ohyes.ohio.gov/Results/Public-Access-Reports/County-Reports