The CDC has released a report showing that high schoolers and middle schoolers are using vapes or e-cigs at a much lower rate. However, the report still holds concerns, and the agency calls for more enforcement mechanisms.
The U.S. Government has been working to prevent the tobacco market from targeting kids and keeping tabs on how that marketing reaches teens and preteens. They’re also watching trends among teens and preteens to see how much they’re partaking of tobacco products.
Now, there’s finally good news: there’s been a measurable decline in e-cig use. The bad news is that kids may be substituting another product instead.
CDC Study Shows Significant Decline In Vape Use In High School & Middle School
In 2023, the CDC’s national survey suggested more than 2 million minors were vaping nicotine. The 2024 survey brings that estimate down by about half a million, from 2.13 million to 1.6 million.
In terms of percentage, that’s a reduction from 7.7% of middle and high schoolers to 5.9%. This includes 7.8% of high school students and 3.5% of middle schoolers.
That’s still a lot. If an average class size is around 20-25 students, that works out to an average of one student in most middle school classes and about three students in every two high school classes who are vapers.
On the other hand, it’s a significant reduction, and it’s a much lower rate than school-aged kids smoked cigarettes in the 90s — in 1995, the CDC estimated that about 29% of boys and 26% of girls aged 12-21 were smoking, and as many more had at least tried it. (These days, cigarette use among middle and high schoolers is below 2%.)
Recent Measures May Have Helped Bring These Numbers Down
In the 1990s, the Federal Trade Commission acted to force Joe Camel off billboards and commercials and demand that cigarette companies stop marketing their products in ways designed to appeal to children. Today, it’s bans on flavored vape pods and raising the age to buy tobacco products.
According to a report published in the National Library of Medicine, raising the age for purchasing tobacco products from 18 to 21 was an evidence-based action to make it more difficult for minors to access tobacco products. The conclusion was reached that student peer groups tend to be closer in age, and by placing the age to purchase further from school age, legislators would make it more difficult for school kids to find someone to purchase tobacco products for them.
There’s also the ban on flavored Juul pods, which advocates hoped would reduce the draw for minors.
Whether it was these measures, advertising, or other reasons, the efforts seem to have paid off: fewer high schoolers and middle schoolers are now using vape products.
However, Tobacco Pouch Use Remains Stable
The bad news is that the use of nicotine pouches, which are placed between the lip and gum, has not declined. Overall, their use has been on the rise since 2016, but student use has remained about the same from 2023 to 2024, with about 1.8% of students (an estimated 480k) admitting to using the products.
Daily use is somewhat lower, around 100k students, and estimated middle school use is much smaller (about 1% of students) than high school (about 2.4% of students).
The Vape Products Minors Are Still Using
The survey also questioned what flavors and vape products school-aged consumers use. It turns out that the vast majority of teen and preteen vapers are still choosing fruit flavors (62.8%), with dessert flavors (33.3%) as a second favorite. (Note: because respondents could choose more than one answer, the totals add up to more than 100%.)
Mint and menthol follow at 25.1% and 15.1%, respectively, with other options, including unflavored, tobacco-flavored, and chocolate, weighing in at lower rates.
More than half said they liked flavors that say “ice” or “iced” (like “blueberry ice”).
Most (55.6%) use disposable vapes, with far fewer (15.6%) using pod-based systems like Juul and even fewer (7%) using refillable tank systems.
“Comprehensive Tobacco Control Strategies…Remain Critical”
The CDC’s conclusion is that while youth use of tobacco products is on the decline, the process is far from complete. The agency wrote:
“Youth e-cigarette use has declined; however, comprehensive tobacco control strategies, regulations, and enforcement remain critical to preventing and reducing e-cigarette and nicotine pouch use among youths.”
The agency doesn’t define exactly what steps could be taken next to further reduce youth use of vapes, but based on their findings, some of the next steps could be further bans on fruity and dessert flavors, or stronger restrictions on access to disposable vapes.
Another possibility: a 2022 study by the University of Rochester Medical Center found that banning some flavored options didn’t deter adults from vaping, but instead turned them toward other flavored options. It also found that flavored nicotine-free vapes did help vapers quit nicotine. That raises the possibility of allowing flavors only for lower-nicotine or nicotine-free vapes.