LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Kentucky middle and high school students are smoking less — but are vaping more — and are more often thinking about killing themselves, according to the 2019 Kentucky Youth Risk Behavior Survey.
The share of Kentucky middle school students who ever seriously thought about killing themselves increased to 22.4%, up from 18.2% in the prior survey, from 2017.
More than 1 in every 11 Kentucky middle schoolers said they had tried to kill themselves, up from 1 in 17 two years earlier. High school students who thought seriously about committing suicide rose to 18.4%, up from 14.8% in the prior survey.
And while smoking cigarettes is on the decline, the survey showed more students are vaping.
Nearly a third of middle school students said they’ve tried vaping, more than double the share from two years ago.
The share of middle school students who used an electronic vapor product on at least one day during the 30 days before the survey jumped to 17.3%, up from 3.9% in the prior survey.
Among high school students, the share of students who had tried vaping increased by more than 9 percentage points, to 53.7%, according to the survey. And the share of high schools who were actively using vapor products rose to 26.1%, up 12 percentage points.
Conversely, the share of high school students who had ever smoked cigarettes, even one or two puffs, decreased to 30.6%, down nearly 10 percentage points.
The survey also indicated that students were sleeping less and spending more time with screens such as computers, tablets and phones.
The Kentucky Department of Education administered the survey in spring 2019 in partnership with family resource and youth service centers. Students were selected to participate randomly throughout the state. The surveys, conducted every two years, are voluntary, anonymous and any student can refuse to answer.
The survey monitors health risk behaviors that contribute to leading causes of death, disability and social problems among youth and adults in the U.S.
The KDE and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are offering resources to combat youth vaping and encourage better sleep and more physical activity.
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