E-cigarette rates drop for high schoolers, but tobacco use jumps for middle schoolers: ‘Our work is far from over’

E-cigarette and tobacco rates have dropped among high school students, while tobacco use has jumped for middle schoolers across the U.S.

That’s according to a new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration, which found that about 50% of students who ever tried e-cigarettes reported currently using them — a sign that many youth who try e-cigarettes remain e-cigarette users.

The CDC and FDA study is based on the results from the 2023 National Youth Tobacco Survey. Students in the survey were asked whether they’ve used tobacco products in the last month.

Among high school students, past 30-day use of any tobacco product declined from last year to this year — from 16.5% to 12.6%. That drop was primarily driven by a decline in e-cigarette use (14.1% to 10.0%).

But middle schooler tobacco use went up significantly, according to the report. Past 30-day use of at least one tobacco product jumped from 4.5% last year to now 6.6% among middle schoolers, and the use of multiple tobacco products climbed from 1.5% to 2.5%.

“The decline in e-cigarette use among high school students shows great progress, but our work is far from over,” said Deirdre Lawrence Kittner, director of CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health.

“Findings from this report underscore the threat that commercial tobacco product use poses to the health of our nation’s youth,” Kittner added. “It is imperative that we prevent youth from starting to use tobacco and help those who use tobacco to quit.”