What a drag.
About 13,000 city middle school students huffed on an e-cigarette last year, the city Department of Health said Tuesday.
That’s one in 15 kids in grades 6 to 8 who admitted to vaping in 2018.
“E-cigarette use is harmful, and in partnership with the Health Department, we are educating students and families about its risks,” said schools Chancellor Richard Carranza in a statement.
A rash of illnesses and deaths reportedly related to vaping has made headlines in recent weeks, ratcheting up scrutiny of e-cigarette use.
A total of 14 percent of city middle school kids — about 29,000 — said they’ve tried an e-cigarette, officials said.
That’s in addition to the one in six city high school students who reported using e-cigarettes in a 2017 survey.
The city Department of Health warned that one “pod” of the popular e-cigarette brand Juul contains as much nicotine as an entire pack of the tobacco variety.
“Nicotine can change the chemistry of the teen brain; it can worsen memory and concentration, decreasing learning ability,” the agency said in a statement accompanying the new figures.
Because the devices have no discernible odor, kids are often able to use e-cigarettes undetected in school, using unmonitored bathrooms to indulge in a few puffs before returning to class.
E-cigarettes have been touted as an effective option for those seeking to quit traditional tobacco cigarettes.
But officials are warning that they might pose their own risks and that e-cigarette companies have purposefully enticed young users with flavors ranging from creme brûlée to bubble gum.
“These numbers confirm that e-cigarette use has not only reached epidemic levels among high school students in New York but is now a major threat to middle school students,” said City Council Health Committee Chairman Mark Levine in a statement.
The city has already banned the sale of e-cigarettes to anyone under the age of 21 and outlawed their use anywhere smoking is prohibited.
The City Council is mulling an additional law that would ban the sale of flavored vapes outright to stem their popularity with younger enthusiasts.
Vaping industry representatives argue that their product is far less harmful than cigarettes and that they do not market to youthful users.
But the FDA scolded Juul in a letter Monday, asserting that its safety claims have not been adequately proven.
The Federal Trade Commission is also probing the company’s marketing tactics — and whether it is knowingly courting underage inhalers.
Juul said in a statement Tuesday, “We share these concerns about youth vaping, which is why we have taken the most aggressive actions of anyone in the industry to combat youth usage.”
Juul spokesman Austin Finan told The Post that the company does not target kids and stressed that all flavored varieties are only sold online with age-verification restrictions.
“We have never marketed to youth, do not sell flavors like cotton candy or bubble gum, and strongly advocated for Tobacco 21 legislation here in New York,” he said.