High Schoolers Are Vaping Less Today Than They Were Last Year
The vaping fad is on the wane amongst American high schoolers.
According to a November 3, 2023 survey from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the number of high school students who report that they engage in vaping has decreased over the past year. In 2022, 14.1% of U.S. high school students reported that they vaped electronic cigarettes.[1] In 2023, the percentage dropped to 10.0%.[2] (For details on the survey results, please click here).
These survey results are positive. While e-cigarettes are not as unhealthy as traditional cigarettes, they still pose health hazards due to the presence of nicotine (which is highly addictive) and other harmful substances. Furthermore, data shows that young people who get hooked on e-cigarettes are more likely to smoke traditional cigarettes in the future.
The Associated Press reported on the following key findings from the CDC survey:
- Approximately one-quarter of students who use e-cigarettes use them on a daily basis;
- About 2.8 million middle and high school students (or one in 10) reported having recently used a tobacco product;
- Almost 90% of students who vape use flavored products that taste like fruit or candy.
According to the AP, health officials believe that the drop in vaping by highschoolers may be connected to “efforts to raise prices and limit sales to kids by raising the legal age to 21.” The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has sent warning letters to sellers who allow underage persons to purchase e-cigarettes. The FDA has also banned the use of flavors in reusable e-cigarettes; however, flavored disposable cigarettes—some of them made in China—continue to be sold in the United States.
New Yorkers should be encouraged by the latest survey results regarding highschoolers and e-cigarettes. Nevertheless, parents should be vigilant about teens and vaping due to the popularity of flavored vaping products with young people.
[1] According to the Centers for Disease Control, “vaping” means using an electronic cigarette (also known as an e-cigarette). The CDC states that “e-cigarettes come in many shapes and sizes. Most have a battery, a heating element, and a place to hold a liquid. E-cigarettes produce an aerosol by heating a liquid that usually contains nicotine—the addictive drug in regular cigarettes, cigars, and other tobacco products—flavorings, and other chemicals that help to make the aerosol. Users inhale this aerosol into their lungs. Bystanders can also breathe in this aerosol when the user exhales into the air.”
[2] Strangely, the number of middle schoolers who report that they are e-cigarette users did not decline from 2022 to 2023.