Youth e-cigarette use drops to lowest level in a decade
Fewer than half a million young Americans reported current use of e-cigarettes in 2024 compared to 2023, according to new data from the National Youth Tobacco Survey (New York Times) released today by the US Food and Drug Administration and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The nationally representative data contained in the morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (mmor) includes findings related to the use of e-cigarettes and pouch nicotine among young people in the United States, two categories of tobacco products the FDA and the CDC are closely monitoring, especially with regard to youth use and appeal.
The New York Times is an annual self-administered school survey of U.S. middle (grades 6-8) and high school (grades 9-12) students conducted in January. From May 22 to 22, 2024. The results showed that there was a significant decrease in the number of middle and high school students in the United States who reported using e-cigarettes (last 30 days) – a decrease from 2.13 million (7.7%) young people in 2023 to 1.63 million (5.9%) young people in 2024. This decrease is largely due to the decline in e-cigarette use among high school students (1.56 million to 1.21 million), with no statistically significant change in current e-cigarette use among middle school students over the past year. The number of young people who used e-cigarettes in 2024 was almost a third of what it was at its peak in 2019, when more than five million young people reported using e-cigarettes currently.
Among young people who currently use e-cigarettes, 26.3% report using e-cigarettes daily. The vast majority of young people who currently use e-cigarettes use flavored products (87.6%), with fruit (62.8%), candy (33.3%) and mint (25.1%) being the three most used flavors. Disposable e-cigarette products were the most common type of product; however, the most popular brands included disposable and cartridge-based products. Among the young people who are currently using e-cigarettes, the most popular brands were elf Bar (36.1%), breeze (19.9%), Mr. Fogg (15.8%), Voz (13.7%) and Jules (12.6%).
Over the past year, youth use of electronic cigarettes from the “Elf bar” brand has experienced a significant decrease, from 56.7% in 2023 to 36.1% in 2024. “Elf bar” products are not approved by the food and Drug Administration (FDA), which since early 2023 has taken strict measures that included issuing more than 1,000 warning letters and imposing 240 financial fines on retailers and others in the supply chain. The FDA also issued import alerts that placed elf bar products on the “Red List”, allowing the agency to detain them upon entry without the need for a full inspection.
Keeping tobacco products out of the hands of young people remains a top priority for the FDA and the CDC. As students return to school, it’s important for teachers and parents to talk to teens about product use, keeping tobacco products out of the hands of young people remains a top priority for the FDA and the CDC. As students return to school, it is important for teachers and parents to talk to teenagers about the use of tobacco products. The FDA and the CDC have free information and resources available to help these and other groups. For example, the FDA’s vaping prevention and Education Resource Center is
