Teen Tobacco Use Drops To 25-Year Low As Vaping Rates Plummet, CDC Says

17 Oct 2024 by Antonio Pequeño IV · Forbes

Topline

Teen tobacco use has dropped to its lowest point in 25 years, a CDC survey published Thursday found, a milestone that follows a 20% decline since last year as the number of middle and high schoolers who use e-cigarettes falls sharply.

E-cigarettes are the most used tobacco products by youths since 2014. (Photo by Rasid Necati ... [+] Aslim/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Key Facts

The CDC survey estimated 2.25 million middle and high school students were current users of a tobacco product in 2024, a significant decrease from the 2.8 million who reported the same in 2023.

Deirdre Kittner, director of the CDC's Office on Smoking and Health, said in a statement the drop to 2.25 million was “an extraordinary milestone for public health,” noting it was the lowest current teen tobacco use had been since 1999, when the CDC’s National Youth Tobacco survey began.

The CDC largely attributed the historic decline to lessened e-cigarette use (down to 5.9% of teens), with 1.63 million teens reporting use in 2024 compared to 2.13 million in 2023.

Cigarette smoking also reached the lowest level in the survey’s history, with just 1.4% of students reporting use this year.

Hookah, a water pipe used to smoke tobacco products, also experienced a drop in use (down to 0.7% of teens), with 190,000 teens saying they used it this year versus the 290,000 who reported use in 2023.

Some 1.58 million high school students are estimated to be current tobacco users, along with 640,000 middle school students, with tobacco use among high schoolers dropping from 12.6% to 10.1%, though the rate for middle schoolers—5.4%—logged “no statistically significant changes.”

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Crucial Quote

Though Kittner lauded the milestone, she said in her statement “with more than 2 million youth using tobacco products and certain groups not experiencing declines in use, our mission is far from complete.” Kittner’s comment likely refers to the lack of statistical changes among current use from middle school students and all racial and ethnic groups, which is mentioned in the survey’s full report.

Surprising Fact

For the first time in the survey’s history, nicotine pouches were the second most commonly used tobacco product, with 890,000 students reporting ever using pouches this year. Nicotine pouch sales substantially increased from 2016 to 2020 ($709,635 versus $216.8 million).

Key Background

The CDC said e-cigarettes have been the most used tobacco product among youths in the U.S. The agency attributes tobacco product use among children to flavored products, tobacco marketing tactics, misperceptions about risks, new flavor types and product features. The CDC says usage can be cut through smoke-free policies, media campaigns on the negative effects of tobacco and price increases. Meanwhile, regulators have cracked down on certain types of flavored e-cigarettes, which appear to be more popular with underage users. The American Lung Association finds the majority of adult smokers began smoking before the age of 18 and that children first begin smoking due to factors such as peer pressure, social norms, affordable tobacco products and parents who also smoke. E-cigarettes, the most used tobacco product by youths, can cause lung damage, cancer and addiction, according to the American Lung Association, which notes the minimum age of sale for e-cigarettes is 18 years old in most states.