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

The National Youth Tobacco Survey found that half a million fewer U.S. youth reported current use of e-cigarettes.

September 09, 2024

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.

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