U.S. Youth Vaping Drops to Lowest Level in More Than a Decade
Half a million fewer U.S. youth reported current use of e-cigarettes in 2024 compared to 2023, according to new data from the National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS) released Sept. 5, 2024, by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The nationally representative data featured in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report includes findings on e-cigarette and nicotine pouch use among U.S. youth, two categories of tobacco products the FDA and CDC are monitoring closely, particularly regarding youth use and appeal.
NYTS is an annual school-based, self-administered survey of U.S. middle (grades 6–8) and high school (grades 9–12) students conducted Jan. 22 to May 22, 2024. Findings showed there was a significant drop in the number of U.S. middle and high school students who reported current (past 30 days) e-cigarette use – a decrease from 2.13 million (7.7 percent) youth in 2023 to 1.63 million (5.9 percent) youth in 2024.
This decline was largely driven by reduced e-cigarette use among high schoolers (1.56 million to 1.21 million), with no statistically significant change in current e-cigarette use among middle school students within the past year. The number of youth who used e-cigarettes in 2024 is approximately one-third of what it was at its peak in 2019, when over 5 million youth reported current e-cigarette use.
“The continued decline in e-cigarette use among our nation’s youth is a monumental public health win,” said Brian King, director of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products, in a statement. “This progress is a testament to the relentless efforts by the FDA, CDC and others, particularly over the past half decade. But we can’t rest on our laurels, as there’s still more work to do to further reduce youth e-cigarette use.”
Among youth who currently used e-cigarettes, 26.3 percent reported using e-cigarettes daily. The vast majority of youth who currently used e-cigarettes used flavored products (87.6 percent), with fruit (62.8 percent), candy (33.3 percent) and mint (25.1 percent) being the top three most commonly used flavors. Disposable e-cigarette products were the most common product type used; however, the most popular brands included both disposable and cartridge-based products. Among youth who currently used e-cigarettes, the most commonly reported brands were Elf Bar (36.1 percent), Breeze (19.9 percent), Mr. Fog (15.8 percent), Vuse (13.7 percent) and JUUL (12.6 percent).
Youth nicotine pouch use did not show a statistically significant change from 2023 (1.5 percent in 2023 and 1.8 percent in 2024). Of the nearly half a million middle and high school students who reported current nicotine pouch use, 22.4 percent used them daily. The most commonly reported brands among that group were Zyn (68.7 percent), On! (14.2 percent), Rogue (13.6 percent), Velo (10.7 percent) and Juice Head ZTN (9.8 percent). Among those who currently used nicotine pouches, the vast majority used flavored products (85.6 percent), with mint (53.3 percent), fruit (22.4 percent) and menthol (19.3 percent) being the most commonly used flavors.
