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Youth

Decline in Tobacco Product Use Among U.S. Middle and High School Students

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released a report in collaboration with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) showing a decline in tobacco product use among U.S. middle and high school students from 2019 to 2020. The report found that about 1 in 6 students were current users of some type of tobacco product in 2020, with a significant decrease in the use of e-cigarettes, cigars, and smokeless tobacco. However, the report also highlighted that nearly 4.5 million students still use tobacco products, putting them at risk for nicotine addiction and other health risks.

Key Takeaways:

  • The report found that the use of e-cigarettes declined by 39.6% among high school students and 34.8% among middle school students from 2019 to 2020.
  • The use of any combustible tobacco product declined by 47.4% among middle school students and 25.7% among high school students during the same period.
  • The study found that nearly 1 in 4 high school students (3.65 million) were current users of any tobacco product in 2020, down about 25% from 2019.
  • About 1 in 15 middle school students (800,000) were current users of any tobacco product in 2020, down nearly 50% from 2019.
  • The use of heated tobacco products remained stable, while the use of hookah and pipe tobacco also remained unchanged from 2019 to 2020.
  • The report highlighted that many youths used multiple tobacco products, with about 1 in 3 high school students (1.27 million) and about 2 in 5 middle school students (340,000) using two or more tobacco products in 2020.
  • The decline in tobacco product use was attributed to the efforts of public health campaigns and the actions of policymakers to regulate tobacco products.

Statistics:

  • 19.6% of high school students used e-cigarettes in 2020, down from 33.4% in 2019.
  • 4.7% of middle school students used e-cigarettes in 2020, down from 7.5% in 2019.
  • 3.65 million high school students were current users of any tobacco product in 2020, down from 4.8 million in 2019.
  • 800,000 middle school students were current users of any tobacco product in 2020, down from 1.5 million in 2019.
  • 3.6 million youth used e-cigarettes in 2020, making it the most commonly used tobacco product among both middle and high school students.

Sources:

  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
  • Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
  • Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)
  • National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS)

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