Playbl's 2025 School & Community Vaping Survey reveals that nearly 80% of schools and community organizations view youth vaping as a serious or crisis-level issue, driven largely by stress, peer influence, and home-life challenges. The findings highlight major gaps in prevention infrastructure and underscore the urgent need for scalable, evidence-based programs that address both vaping behavior and its underlying causes.
NEW HAVEN, Conn., Dec. 5, 2025 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Playbl today announced the results of its first-ever School & Community Youth Vaping Survey, a nationwide assessment capturing how schools, districts, public health agencies, and community coalitions are experiencing and responding to youth vaping. The survey gathered responses from more than 100 organizations across 29 states, offering one of the clearest current snapshots of the vaping landscape facing U.S. youth.
The findings highlight a mounting challenge: nearly 80% of respondents identified youth vaping as a challenge, significant challenge, or crisis in their community. Schools and community groups reported impacts ranging from anxiety and behavioral issues to declining academic performance—reinforcing that vaping is not merely a disciplinary problem, but a multifaceted behavioral-health concern.
Among the most striking data points:
- Nicotine (49.3%) and THC/cannabis (45.4%) are the substances youth most commonly vape, with a small but alarming number of respondents reporting fentanyl involvement (4.4%).
- Peer pressure (24.1%), home life (21.5%), and stress/anxiety (20.1%) emerged as top drivers of youth vaping, indicating a blend of emotional, social, and environmental causes.
- While many communities rely on reactive measures such as suspension or vape detectors, only 11% of schools using vape detectors reported significant impact, suggesting the limits of punitive or hardware-based approaches.
- Despite widespread concern, fewer than half of communities offer vaping prevention programs for students, and only 35% offer education for parents—exposing a major gap in systemic prevention infrastructure.
"These findings make it clear that youth vaping is both widespread and deeply intertwined with mental health, family dynamics, and social pressures," said Kirby Salerno, CEO of Playbl. "Communities are trying to address the issue, but they need scalable, evidence-based tools that support students, families, and schools at the same time."
The report underscores the need for comprehensive, student-centered prevention and intervention strategies—programs that address not only the behavior of vaping but also the underlying drivers. Respondents emphasized the importance of solutions that are evidence-based, easy to implement across multiple school settings, and capable of engaging youth meaningfully.
Playbl's mission is to support that shift. By combining scientifically validated digital programs with real-time data collection and seamless school implementation, Playbl helps communities move from reactive responses to sustainable, proactive prevention.
"We developed this survey so that school and community leaders could finally have actionable data—not just anecdotes—to guide their decisions," said Kirby Salerno. "We're grateful to every organization that participated, and we hope these insights help communities build healthier futures for their youth."
The full 2025 Vaping Survey Report is available upon request.
About Playbl
Playbl is a mission-driven digital health education platform that improves adolescent behavioral health through evidence-based, game-based interventions created in partnership with the play2PREVENT Lab. Playbl's programs address vaping, opioid misuse, mental health, and other high-priority youth health challenges.
Learn more at www.playbl.com
Media Contact
Kirby Salerno, Playbl, 1 6177330590, [email protected], Playbl.com
SOURCE Playbl
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