U.S. Surgeons General Warn of Declining Mental Health of Youth

• Six former surgeons general expressed concern for young people at the recent “Global Mental Health Crisis Symposium” sponsored by Dartmouth Health and Geisel School of Medicine.
• The panel shared recommendations for improving youth mental health including boosting the number of psychiatrists, removing the stigma around mental health conditions and providing more education around LGBTQ struggles.
• They also discussed the harmful effects of social media, containing widespread youth gambling, and increasing awareness of the neurotoxic effects of THC in marijuana.

Teen Nicotine Vaping Trends Show Powerful Evidence of Addiction

• Daily nicotine vaping nearly doubled between 2020 and 2024 among U.S. middle and high school students who use e-cigarettes, researchers reported Nov. 3 in JAMA Network Open.
• The share of teen vapers who puff every day rose from 15% to nearly 29%, the study found.
• The percentage of daily vapers who unsuccessfully tried to quit rose from 28% to 53% during the same period, according to the study.
• By 2024, more vapers were female, Black and from a rural area, researchers said. Daily vaping in rural areas rose dramatically from 16% in 2020 to nearly 42% in 2024.

Study: Short-term social media breaks can improve mental health in youth

• Reducing social media use for one week may improve mental health outcomes in young adults, according to a new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
• During the social media detox, participants 18 to 24 stopped using TikTok, X, Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook. 
• After a week, participants reported a reduction of anxiety by about 16%, depression by nearly 25%, and insomnia by nearly 15%, with no meaningful change in loneliness.

Youth-led framework addresses teens’ mental health and social media use

• #HalfTheStory is a nonprofit focused on empowering the next generation of digital wellness leaders.
• Rachel Hanebutt, assistant professor at Georgetown University, worked in conjunction with the nonprofit to launch a national Teen Advisory Board to center teenagers’ expertise and experience in shaping mental health resources, tech policy and societal change.
• Ultimately, the board developed a digital well-being framework. Teens drove the recruitment, retention and leadership strategies, including peer-referral models and meaningful compensation for research participants, resulting in a unique, flexible, youth-led and youth-sustained model.

WHO launches new guidance to promote mental health across all government sectors

• The World Health Organization (WHO) has released new guidance on policy and strategic actions to protect and promote mental health across government sectors, marking a major step toward a “mental health in all policies” approach.
• The publication covers guidance on establishing a high-level cross-sectoral initiative on mental health as well as on protecting and promoting mental health and well-being in 10 key sectors.

To view the WHO Guidance on policy and strategic actions to protect and promote mental health across government sectors, visit https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240114388.