On September 5, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released the latest data from the National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS), which showed that 500,000 fewer U.S. teens reported using e-cigarettes in 2024 compared to 2023.
NYTS is an annual self-survey of middle school (grades 6-8) and high school (grades 9-12) students in the United States conducted from January 22 to May 22, 2024. The survey results show a significant decline in the number of U.S. middle and high school students reporting current (past 30 days) use of e-cigarettes, from 2.13 million (7.7%) in 2023 to 1.63 million (5.9%) in 2024.
This decline was largely due to a decrease in e-cigarette use among high school students (from 1.56 million to 1.21 million), while there was no statistically significant change in e-cigarette use among middle school students over the past year. The number of teens using e-cigarettes in 2024 is about a third of the peak in 2019, when more than 5 million teens reported current e-cigarette use.
"The continued decline in e-cigarette use among our nation's youth is a tremendous win for public health," said Brian King, MD, MPH, director of the FDA's Center for Tobacco Products. "This progress is a testament to the tireless efforts of the FDA, CDC and other agencies, especially over the past five years." But we cannot rest on our laurels, as more needs to be done to further reduce youth e-cigarette use."
Among teens who currently use e-cigarettes, 26.3 percent reported using them on a daily basis. The vast majority of teens who currently use e-cigarettes use flavored products (87.6 percent), with fruit flavors (62.8 percent), candy flavors (33.3 percent) and mint flavors (25.1 percent) being the three most commonly used flavors. Disposable e-cigarette products are the most commonly used product type; However, the most popular brands include disposable and boxed products.
"Youth use of tobacco products in any form, including e-cigarettes and nicotine packs, is not safe," said Deirdre Lawrence Kittner, Ph.D., MPH, director of the CDC's Office on Smoking and Health. "We must remain vigilant and committed to public health efforts to ensure that all adolescents can live healthy, smoke-free lives."
There was no statistically significant change in youth nicotine bag use compared to 2023 (1.5% in 2023 versus 1.8% in 2024). Of the nearly 500,000 middle and high school students who reported currently using nicotine packs, 22.4 percent used them daily.
The most commonly consumed brands in this group are Zyn (68.7%), on! (14.2%), Rogue (13.6%), Velo (10.7%) and Juice Head ZTN (9.8%). Of those who currently use nicotine packs, the vast majority use flavored products (85.6 percent), with mint (53.3 percent), fruit (22.4 percent) and menthol (19.3 percent) being the most commonly used flavors.
"While it is encouraging to see these numbers remain at relatively low levels, the bottom line is that we are concerned about any tobacco product that appeals to young people," King said. "We are aware of growing trends in the sales of nicotine pack tobacco products and are closely monitoring the evolving tobacco product landscape for threats to public health, especially for children."
