Electronic cigarette use triples among middle and high school students according to a press release by the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). According to Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) there is also no decline in overall tobacco use from the publication’s start in 2011.
The report is based on the National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS). NYTS is a school-based, self-administered and surveyed 22,000 students from 2013-2014. It surveyed all forms of tobacco use among these students.
Electronic cigarette use was more common than use of any other tobacco product. For high school students, the use increased from 4.5 percent to 13.4 percent. That is approximately 660,000 to 2 million in one year. Among middle school students, the increase was from 1.1 percent to 3.9 percent. That is an increase from 120,000 to 450,000 current users. Electronic cigarette use tripled in only one year.
The survey also found electronic cigarette usage was highest among non-Hispanic whites, Hispanics and non-Hispanics of multiple races.
Youth tobacco use lasts longer than teen years. About 90 percent of smokers first tried cigarettes as teens. Three out of four teen smokers continue to smoke into adulthood. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is working to ensure electronic cigarette users follow the same guidelines as traditional cigarettes. A few states have already set age requirements. Other tactics to decrease youth tobacco use include rising prices, creating smoke-free laws and powerful media campaigns.
“In today’s rapidly evolving tobacco marketplace, the surge in youth use of novel products like e-cigarettes forces us to confront the reality that the progress we have made in reducing youth cigarette smoking rates is being threatened,” says Mitch Zeller, J.D., Director of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products. “These staggering increases in such a short time underscore why FDA intends to regulate these additional products to protect public health.”
To learn about the risks associated with electronic cigarettes, click here.
For help on quitting, visit Smoke Free.
