Tag: National Youth Tobacco Survery

  • U.S. Youth Vaping Drops to Lowest Level in More Than a Decade

    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.

  • Vaping Down Among U.S. Youth

    Vaping Down Among U.S. Youth

    Photo: Daisy Daisy

    One in 10 U.S. middle and high school students reported using of any type of tobacco, according to data from the 2023 National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYST) that were collected between March and June 2023 and released today.

    Among U.S. high school students, current overall tobacco product use declined during 2022-2023 from 16.5 percent to 12.6 percent, a development attributed primarily to reduced e-cigarette use, which dropped from 14.1 percent to 10 percent. Among high school students, declines in current use were also observed during 2022-2023 for cigars and overall combustible tobacco smoking, representing all-time lows.  

    “It’s encouraging to see this substantial decline in e-cigarette use among high schoolers within the past year, which is a win for public health,” said Brian King, director of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Tobacco Products, in a statement. “But we can’t rest on our laurels. There’s more work to be done to build on this progress.”

    Among middle school students there was an increase in current overall tobacco product use (4.5 percent to 6.6 percent) and multiple tobacco product use (1.5 percent to 2.5 percent). However, among middle school students overall, no significant change was observed during 2022-2023 for current use of any individual tobacco product type, including e-cigarettes.

    It’s encouraging to see this substantial decline in e-cigarette use among high schoolers within the past year, which is a win for public health. But we can’t rest on our laurels.

    Brian King, Director, CTP

    E-cigarettes remained the most commonly used tobacco product among both high school and middle school students for the 10th year in a row. Among youth who reported current e-cigarette use, approximately one-quarter reported using e-cigarettes every day. Disposable e-cigarette products were the most common product type used by youth who reported e-cigarette use. However, the most popular brands included both disposable and cartridge-based products. Among current youth e-cigarette users, the most commonly reported brands were Elf Bar (56.7 percent), Esco Bars (21.6 percent), Vuse (20.7 percent), Juul (16.5 percent) and Mr. Fog (13.6 percent).  

    Among youth who reported current e-cigarette use, nearly all used flavored products (89.4 percent), with fruit, candy, mint and menthol being the most commonly used flavors. For the first time in NYTS, the 2023 questionnaire asked about use of flavors that included the word “ice” or “iced” in their name, along with other concept flavor names—that is, names that imply flavor but do not explicitly indicate any particular flavor, such as “island bash.”

    R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. said it welcomed the decline in overall youth tobacco use. “This is good news, and we agree with Dr. King that more needs to be done,” the company wrote in an e-mailed statement.  “Future progress requires regulators—especially FDA—to seriously address the influx of irresponsibly marketed, illegal flavored disposable vapor products.”

    In October, Reynolds filed a complaint with the International Trade Commission charging multiple manufacturers, distributors and retailers of disposable vaping devices with unfair importation.