Nicotine 
Health Risks for Youth

Nicotine is a chemical commonly found in cigarettes, e-cigarettes, and other commercial tobacco products. Nicotine is highly addictive and nicotine exposure can harm brain development as teens grow. Nicotine dependence can worsen mental health for youth.

E-cigarettes and vaping expose Minnesota teens to the dangers of nicotine

In 2023, 13.9% or about one in seven high school students reported having used e-cigarettes in the past 30 days.¹ E-cigarettes are the most commonly used commercial tobacco product among Minnesota youth, and nearly all e-cigarettes contain nicotine.²

Learn more about E-cigarettes and Vaping.

No amount of nicotine is safe for youth

Nicotine can harm brain development as teens grow

Even in small doses, nicotine exposure in adolescence causes long-lasting changes in brain development, which could have negative implications for learning, memory, attention, behavior problems, and future addiction.^{3, 4, 5, 6, 7}

Learn more about Nicotine and the Escalating Risk of Addiction for Youth (PDF)

Nicotine is harmful to the health of unborn children

Evidence shows that fetal exposure to nicotine can have negative long-term effects, including sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), impaired fetal brain and lung development, hearing problems, effects on behaviors and obesity, and deficits in attention and learning.⁸ Studies also indicate that fetal nicotine exposure is associated with nicotine dependence in adolescence.^{6, 9, 10}

Learn more about Nicotine Risks for Children, Teens, and Pregnant Women (PDF).

Nicotine can be toxic, even deadly, in high doses

Eating, drinking, or otherwise absorbing large amounts of nicotine can lead to nicotine poisoning, especially in children.⁶ Symptoms of poisoning include nausea, vomiting, seizures, and respiratory distress.^{11, 12} In high enough doses nicotine can be deadly.

For poison emergencies or questions call the Minnesota Poison Control System at 1-800-222-1222. Service is available 24/7, free of charge, and is confidential.

Nicotine dependence can worsen anxiety and depression and lead to poor mental health

Nicotine dependence can cause stress and mood fluctuations, which can lead to poor mental health, despite the common misconception that nicotine can help relieve stress, anxiety, or depression.

Increasing dependence on nicotine leads to stronger withdrawal symptoms, which causes mood fluctuations and negative mood, and can amplify or worsen stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms.¹³

Youth and young adults can show signs of nicotine dependence quickly

Some studies have demonstrated that teens show signs of dependence before they begin using commercial tobacco every day, suggesting that this age group may be particularly sensitive to withdrawal symptoms.^{14, 15, 16}

These results are like those found in Minnesota where 80% of high school and middle school e-cigarette users report signs of nicotine dependence, according to the 2023 Minnesota Youth Tobacco Survey.¹ Dependence indicators include:

• Vaping before going into a situation where vaping is not allowed
• Reaching for an e-cigarette without thinking about it
• Experiencing intolerable cravings after a few hours of not vaping
• Dropping everything to buy e-cigarettes or e-juice

These results suggest that youth are developing dependence on the nicotine in e-cigarettes relatively quickly, despite many of them not using e-cigarettes daily.

The high levels of nicotine in e-cigarette liquid using nicotine salts, such as JUUL pods, may be contributing to these dependence levels. One recent study found that youth who use high-nicotine content pods, such as JUUL, are more likely to report signs of nicotine dependence, and be daily users, than if they did not use high nicotine content pods.¹⁷

Quitting smoking or vaping relieves stress and improves mental health

Quitting commercial tobacco use, including smoking and vaping, lowers levels of stress, anxiety, and depression, and improves daily mood and quality of life.^{18, 19, 20, 21, 22} One review of 102 studies showed that people who quit smoking maintain lower stress levels up to six years after quitting.²³

Free help for teens: My Life, My Quit^TM

My Life, My Quit is a program to help Minnesota teens ages 13-17 quit commercial tobacco and nicotine, including vaping. The program is free and confidential.

Teens can text to chat with a quit coach, engage in coaching calls and online chat, and receive youth-specific materials.

Teens can text “Start My Quit” to 36072 or visit My Life, My Quit.

Health advisories

• 9/12/2018 Health Advisory: Nicotine and the Escalating Risk of Addiction for Youth (PDF)
• 2/6/2018 Health Advisory: Nicotine Risks for Children, Teens, and Pregnant Women (PDF)

Learn more

• Quit Partner: Free help to quit your way
• Quitting Commercial Tobacco
• Tobacco and Nicotine Use in Minnesota: Briefs, Reports, and Statistics

References

1. Helgertz SR. Teens and Commercial Tobacco in Minnesota: Highlights from the 2023 Minnesota Youth Tobacco Survey: Minnesota Center for Health Statistics, Minnesota Department of Health, May 2024.
2. Marynak KL, Gammon DG, Rogers T, Coats EM, Singh T, King BA, “Sales of Nicotine-Containing Electronic Cigarette Products: United States, 2015”, American Journal of Public Health 107, no. 5 (May 1, 2017): pp. 702-705. DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2017.303660
3. Counotte et al., “Long-Lasting Cognitive Deficits Resulting from Adolescent Nicotine Exposure in Rats.”
4. Abreu-Villaca et al., “Short-Term Adolescent Nicotine Exposure Has Immediate and Persistent Effects on Cholinergic Systems: Critical Periods, Patterns of Exposure, Dose Thresholds.”
5. Slikker et al., “Mode of Action: Disruption of Brain Cell Replication, Second Messenger, and Neurotransmitter Systems during Development Leading to Cognitive Dysfunction--Developmental Neurotoxicity of Nicotine.”
6. Slotkin, “Nicotine and the Adolescent Brain: Insights from an Animal Model.”
7. Gould and Leach, “Cellular, Molecular, and Genetic Substrates Underlying the Impact of Nicotine on Learning.”
8. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, “The Health Consequences of Smoking-50 Years of Progress: A Report of the Surgeon General.”
9. England, L.J., et al., Nicotine and the Developing Human: A Neglected Element in the Electronic Cigarette Debate. Am J Prev Med, 2015.
10. De Genna, N.M., et al., Prenatal tobacco exposure, maternal postnatal nicotine dependence and adolescent risk for nicotine dependence: Birth cohort study. Neurotoxicol Teratol, 2017.
11. Benowitz et al., “Prolonged Absorption with Development of Tolerance to Toxic Effects after Cutaneous Exposure to Nicotine.”