NEW YORK — Recent government data has revealed that teen smoking rates in the United States have reached an unprecedented low this year, showcasing a significant decline in tobacco usage among young people.
According to the report released on Thursday, there was a 20% reduction in the estimated number of middle and high school students who reported using any tobacco product, including traditional cigarettes, electronic cigarettes, nicotine pouches, and hookahs. The total number of users decreased from 2.8 million in the previous year to 2.25 million, marking the lowest figures since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) began its key surveys in 1999.
Deirdre Lawrence Kittner, director of the CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health, described the achievement of reaching a 25-year low in youth tobacco use as a remarkable public health milestone, but emphasized that there remains more work to be done in the mission to reduce tobacco dependence among young people.
The significant reduction in vaping among teens is a primary factor in this overall decline, with tobacco use among students dropping from 10% to approximately 8%, health officials reported.
The rate of e-cigarette usage among youth has now fallen below 6%, down from 7.7% last year, signifying the lowest level observed in the last decade. E-cigarettes remain the most popular tobacco products among teenagers, followed closely by nicotine pouches.
Other tobacco product usage has experienced declines as well. Twenty-five years ago, about 30% of high school students reported smoking, whereas that figure stands at just 1.7% this year, a slight decrease from 1.9%. Although the one-year drop is minor enough that it is not regarded as statistically significant, it still reflects the lowest rate since the survey’s inception 25 years ago. Additionally, middle school smoking rates have also reached record lows.
The prevalence of hookah usage has decreased from 1.1% to 0.7%, adding to the overall decline in tobacco consumption among youth.
These findings stem from an annual CDC survey that included participation from nearly 30,000 middle and high school students across 283 schools, achieving a response rate of around 33%.
Health officials credit the reduction in tobacco use among youth to various measures such as price hikes, comprehensive public health campaigns, strict age restrictions, and enhanced enforcement against retailers and manufacturers who sell products to minors.
Among high school students, overall tobacco use has declined to 10% from nearly 13%, while e-cigarette use has dropped to just under 8% from 10%. In contrast, middle school students did not show a change in tobacco usage trends, as they report lower rates of smoking and vaping.
Furthermore, tobacco use has fallen among girls and Hispanic students, though there has been a slight increase among American Indian or Alaska Native students. Notably, the use of nicotine pouches has risen among white youths.