SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO.com) — Vaping is on the rise across the nation and across South Dakota. But while smoking is on the decline across the USA, it’s on the uptick in South Dakota.
So says a study recently released by the Centers for Disease Control. The survey covered the years 2016 and 2017.
During that timeframe, vape usage skyrocketed in South Dakota by 51 percent and South Dakota was one of only six states to also have a percentage increase in smokers during that time frame.
Adam Johnson, research analyst at Quote Wizard, a health insurance comparison website, says he believes there may be a higher price to pay on health insurance premiums soon for vapers, as the product comes under more federal regulation.
Declared smokers can be charged up to 50 percent more for their health insurance premiums under the “Affordable Health Care Act”, and Johnson says don’t be surprised if a similar effect hits vapers in the near future.
Neither the CDC survey nor Quote Wizard’s analysis of the data dug into why South Dakota had the highest spike in vape usage or why the state also had an increase in smoking during the time frame.
It remains to be seen what will happen to the smoking and vaping numbers in South Dakota and around the nation now that the federal government has moved the sale age for all tobacco and vape products to 21.
(Colin Strombeck of KELO Radio News contributed this report.)
