CDC: Teen Tobacco use Down Over 50% From 2019

The numbers are in and teen tobacco use is dropping. According to government data released last week, an estimated 3.08 million U.S. middle and high school students reported using a tobacco product in the last 30 days in 2022. That figure is down from 4.47 million in 2020 and 6.20 million in 2019.

E-cigarettes were the most commonly used tobacco product among teens for the ninth consecutive year, according to the study published in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

The survey found cigars to be second most popular with 500,000 reporting use, followed by 440,000 cigarette smokers.

Nearly 31 percent of the students surveyed reported using multiple products, which the CDC called “particularly concerning” as that has been linked to nicotine dependence and sustained use in adulthood, according to Reuters.

Cigarette smoking among U.S. youths has been steadily declining in the last two decades, although the CDC cautioned against comparing the results to previous years due to a change in the method of data collection related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The study was based on an annual national survey that took place from January to May this year, which showed that nearly 11.3 percent of all students had used a tobacco product in the last 30 days.