Brief report: the prevalence of smoking and vaping among adolescents with/without intellectual disability in the UK.
UK 17-year-old girls with intellectual disability vape three times more than peers, giving BCBAs a precise health-education target.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Researchers asked 17-year-olds across the UK if they smoked or vaped.
They compared answers from teens with intellectual disability to teens without.
The survey was part of a big national study on adolescent health.
What they found
Most teens vaped or smoked at the same rate no matter their diagnosis.
Only one group stood out: girls with intellectual disability.
By age 17, these girls vaped often at triple the rate of other girls.
How this fits with other research
Arwert et al. (2020) show UK people with ID land in hospital far more for preventable illness.
The new vaping numbers add a fresh warning: adolescent girls with ID may pick up nicotine faster.
Laxton et al. (2024) found poor sleep links to smoking in US autistic adults.
Together the papers say neurodivergent groups face higher tobacco risk at every age.
Why it matters
You now have a clear, small target: 17-year-old girls with ID.
Add a short vape-fact sheet to your transition plan packet.
One page can list nicotine myths, sleep benefits, and where to get quit help.
Hand it to parents and teachers before the 17th birthday.
Get CEUs on This Topic — Free
The ABA Clubhouse has 60+ on-demand CEUs including ethics, supervision, and clinical topics like this one. Plus a new live CEU every Wednesday.
Slip a one-page vape-quit resource into the next 17-year-old girl's transition folder.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: Few studies have investigated the prevalence of smoking among young people with/without intellectual disability. To date, no study has investigated the prevalence of vaping among young people with/without intellectual disability. METHODS: Secondary analysis of data collected on 11 726 adolescents at age 14 years (2015) and from 9528 adolescents at age 17 years (2018) in the UK's Millennium Cohort Study. RESULTS: The prevalence of smoking at ages 14 and 17 and of vaping at age 14 was similar among adolescents with and without intellectual disability. There was some evidence to suggest that at age 17, the prevalence of more frequent vaping was higher among girls with intellectual disability than among their female peers (5.2% vs. 1.6%, P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Further large-scale population-based research is required to determine the prevalence of smoking and vaping among people with intellectual disability. Evidence that at age 17, the prevalence of vaping was higher among girls with potential intellectual disability than among their female peers also warrants further investigation given the increasing evidence on the potential harm to health and well-being associated with vaping.
Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDR, 2023 · doi:10.1111/jir.13072