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Tag: NYTS

  • FDA Releases Raw NYTS Data Without Comment

    FDA Releases Raw NYTS Data Without Comment

    Last week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration released the raw data from the 2025 National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS), an annual, school-based survey that collects data on tobacco use among students in grades 6 through 12 across the country. Unlike previous years, the FDA released the data without comment, leaving industry members to interpret it independently.

    The survey tracks students’ tobacco behaviors, attitudes, and exposure to pro- and anti-tobacco messaging, providing nationally representative data. First conducted in 1999, it has guided youth tobacco policy and was jointly run by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention since 2012, before moving fully under FDA oversight in 2025. 

    “Youth use of tobacco and nicotine has been the FDA’s sole focus in its policy and decision making for so many years, with adult education programs centered on the risk continuum of these products seemingly still far off,” said Laura Leigh Oyler, VP of Regulatory Affairs at Nicokick.com. “It’s been a big question throughout the industry as to why they’ve chosen to release this data with no fanfare, and with no guidance on how to interpret it. The FDA has essentially left the industry and other stakeholders to analyze and determine the use rates on their own.”

    Altria Client Services released a “high-level” summary of the data, finding overall tobacco usage by middle and high school students declined for the third straight year, dropping to 7.5%, the lowest rate since the study became annual in 2011, and down from the all-time high of 23.3% in 2019.

    Cigarette usage remained steady at 1.4%, while all other categories dropped from 2024, with e-cigarettes going from 5.9% to 5.2%, pouches from 1.8% to 1.7%, smokeless tobacco going from 1.2% to 0.6%, and heated tobacco products going from 0.8% to 0.7%.

    “With the continued low youth use rates, we think this is something worth celebrating,” Oyler said. “The data shows that targeted public‑health interventions, combined with thoughtful regulation like raising the legal age for nicotine purchases, can make a meaningful difference.”

    “The law is clear: tobacco and nicotine products are strictly for adults 21 and older,” said Matthew T. Sheaff, director of U.S. regulatory communications for Philip Morris International. “At PMI U.S., we are committed to guarding against underage access to our products, while continuing to provide adults 21 and older with better alternatives to smoking and traditional tobacco.

    “For example, we direct our marketing to adult nicotine consumers and do not pay social media influencers to endorse our products in the U.S. This is a shared responsibility—regulators, policymakers, retailers, and manufacturers all have an important role to play.”

    With the news generally positive in terms of youth usage, Oyler suggested emphasis be given to adults 55 and older, whose smoking rates have remained mostly steady, dropping from 18.7% in 2016 to 16.7% in 2023.

    “If anything, this data raises questions less about youth access and more about what we can do to educate adults on the differences between nicotine and tobacco products, and how they can reduce their risk,” Oyler said. “This is the population most at risk of smoking-related disease. This is the population with the most to gain from moving away from cigarettes. And this is the population that has been historically underserved by cessation efforts and innovation.

    “To drive the next major improvement in public health, we must accelerate support for adults who smoke and ensure that they have access to better alternatives, and ultimately, better outcomes.”

  • Nearly Half of State AGs Write CDC Supporting Youth Survey

    Nearly Half of State AGs Write CDC Supporting Youth Survey

    A bipartisan group of 22 attorneys general, led by California Attorney General Rob Bonta, has urged the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to continue the National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS).

    The NYTS is an annual study that tracks smoking and vaping trends among middle and high school students, offering insights that have informed efforts to combat youth tobacco use for over two decades.

    The comment letter submitted by the coalition responds to a CDC invitation for public comment on the continuation of the NYTS. The CDC has indicated intentions to revise the NYTS for the 2026-2028 period but has yet to specify the proposed changes. The attorneys general highlighted concerns that recent actions by the Trump administration, such as the elimination of the Office on Smoking and Health at the CDC and staffing cuts at the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products, could undermine efforts to protect youth from tobacco.

    The letter also stressed the longstanding bipartisan efforts by attorneys general nationwide to address youth exposure to tobacco and nicotine products, emphasizing the critical role NYTS data plays in these initiatives. These efforts include the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) with the largest tobacco companies, which aimed to recover healthcare costs and curb youth smoking. The MSA, which relies heavily on NYTS data, has generated over $171 billion in payments to the states.

    Bonta was joined in submitting the letter by the attorneys general of Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Puerto Rico.

  • Youth Tobacco Survey Results Released

    Youth Tobacco Survey Results Released

    More than one in 10 U.S. middle school and high school students (3.08 million) had used a tobacco product during the past 30 days in 2022, according to data from the 2022 National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS) released by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. This figure included 16.5 percent of high school students and 4.5 percent of middle school students.

    Approximately 3.7 percent (1 million) of all students reported currently smoking any combustible tobacco product. Current use of at least two tobacco products was reported by 3.5 percent (960,000).

    The most commonly used type of product were e-cigarettes (9.4 percent), followed by cigars (1.9 percent) and cigarettes (1.6 percent). More than 2.5 million middle school and high school students currently used e-cigarettes.

    “It’s clear we’ve made commendable progress in reducing cigarette smoking among our nation’s youth. However, with an ever-changing tobacco product landscape, there’s still more work to be done,” said Brian King, director of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products. “We must continue to tackle all forms of tobacco product use among youth, including meaningfully addressing the notable disparities that continue to persist.” 

    Additionally, the 2022 NYTS findings suggest ongoing disparities in tobacco product use—both overall and across population groups. For example, current use of any tobacco product was higher among non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaska Native students (13.5 percent), those identifying as lesbian, gay or bisexual (16 percent), transgender (16.6 percent), and those experiencing severe psychological distress (12.5 percent). Non-Hispanic Black students reported the highest percentage of combustible tobacco product use (5.7 percent), including cigar use (3.3 percent).

    The NYTS is a nationally representative survey of U.S. middle school (grades 6–8) and high school (grades 9–12) students that focuses exclusively on tobacco product use and associated factors and remains critical to informing the FDA’s tobacco regulatory activities in the United States. The FDA and the CDC have been collaborating on the implementation of the NYTS questionnaire and release of data since 2011.

  • FDA Issues Warning to Puff Bar, MDOs to Hyde

    FDA Issues Warning to Puff Bar, MDOs to Hyde

    Credit: Puff Bar

    New data from the 2022 National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS) shows that 2.5 million U.S. youth use e-cigarettes, according to the published findings in the Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report released by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in conjunction with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

    “The FDA remains deeply concerned about e-cigarette use among our nation’s youth. It’s clear that we still have a serious public health problem that threatens the years of progress we have made combatting youth tobacco product use,” said FDA Commissioner Robert M. Califf. “We cannot and will not let our guard down on this issue. The FDA remains steadfast in its commitment to using the full range of our authorities to address youth e-cigarette use head-on.”

    The study shows that about one in 10 middle school (3.3 percent) and high school (14.1 percent) students reported current e-cigarette use; current use is defined as use within the past 30 days. About 85 percent of surveyed students reported using flavored e-cigarettes while 27.6 percent reported daily use. Respondents most commonly used disposables, with Puff Bar being most common (14.5 percent) followed by Vuse (12.5 percent) and Hyde (5.5 percent). Puff Bar and Vuse were pre-specified options on the survey, but Hyde was written in by students as their preferred brand.

    Since methodology changes occurred, including in survey administration and data collection procedures due to the Covid-19 pandemic, comparisons between the 2022 NYTS and previous years is limited.

    Following the release of this data, the FDA has issued a warning letter to Puff Bar for receiving and delivering e-cigarettes in the U.S. without a marketing authorization order. The FDA has requested a response within 15 working days of receiving the letter, detailing how the company intends to address the FDA’s concerns, including the dates on which they discontinued the sale and/or distribution of these tobacco products and plans for maintaining compliance with the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. Failure to address the violations puts the manufacturer at risk of regulatory action, such as a civil money penalty, product seizure and/or injunction.

    The Puff products subject to this warning letter are nontobacco nicotine products.

    After reviewing premarket tobacco product applications for 32 Hyde e-cigarettes, the FDA issued marketing denial orders (MDOs) for these applications submitted by Magellan Technology Inc. In conducting its scientific review, the FDA determined that the applications lacked sufficient evidence demonstrating that the products would provide a benefit to adult users that would be adequate to outweigh the risks to youth. No Hyde products have received marketing authorization orders from the FDA.

    “Congress gave the FDA authority to hold manufacturers and retailers who violate the law accountable,” said Brian King, director of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products. “FDA is actively working to identify violations and to swiftly seek corrective actions, particularly for products popular among youth. We will use all compliance and enforcement tools available to us, as appropriate, to protect our nation’s youth.”