Tag: National Youth Tobacco Survery

  • NYTS Survey: U.S. Vaping Rates Hit Record Lows

    NYTS Survey: U.S. Vaping Rates Hit Record Lows

    Credit: TADA Images

    The latest tally of federal data finds that vaping rates fell from 10 percent of high school students in 2023 to 7.8 percent this year, “reaching the lowest level ever measured,” reported a team of researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

    According to newly released data from the 2024 National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS), current tobacco product use among U.S. middle and high school students has dropped to the lowest recorded level in 25 years,

    “Reaching a 25-year low for youth tobacco product use is an extraordinary milestone for public health. However, with more than 2 million youth using tobacco products and certain groups not experiencing declines in use, our mission is far from complete,” Deirdre Lawrence Kittner, director of CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health, said in a news release announcing the new data.

    Rates of use of traditional cigarettes are also meager: Only 1.4 percent of middle- and high-school kids now smoke, the report found.

    “We’re headed in the right direction when it comes to reducing tobacco product use among our nation’s youth,” said Brian King, director of the US Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Tobacco Products. “But we can’t take our foot off the gas. Continued vigilance is needed to continue to reduce all forms of tobacco product use among youth. Addressing disparities remains an essential part of these efforts to ensure that we don’t leave anyone behind.”

    Modern oral nicotine pouches now rank as the second most popular tobacco product, with 2.4 percent of high school students using them regularly, an FDA release states.

    “Nicotine pouch sales have substantially increased nationwide since 2016,” noted the team led by CDC investigator Ahmed Jamal, and “nearly one million (890,000) students reported ever using nicotine pouches in 2024.”

    Still, the overall trends are positive, and by 2024 only 1 in every 10 middle-and high-school students was using any form of tobacco product.

  • Vaping Down Among U.S. High School Students

    Vaping Down Among U.S. High School Students

    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.