Youth E-Cigarette Use Drops to Lowest Level in a Decade

According to new data from the National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS) released by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, half a million fewer U.S. youth reported current use of e-cigarettes in 2024 compared to 2023.

NYTS is an annual, school-based, self-administered survey of U.S. middle (grades 6-8) and high school (grades 9-12) students conducted January 22 to May 22, 2024. Findings showed there was a significant drop in the number of students who reported e-cigarette use in the past 30 days—a decrease from 2.13 million (7.7%) youth in 2023 to 1.63 million (5.9%) youth in 2024.

According to the FDA, the 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 youths who used e-cigarettes in 2024 is approximately one-third of what it was at its peak in 2019, when over five 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.

Youth nicotine pouch use did not show a statistically significant change from 2023 (1.5% in 2023 and 1.8% in 2024). Of the nearly half a million middle and high school students who reported current nicotine pouch use, 22.4% used them daily.