The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently released new numbers on teen smoking. It seems that progress is being made toward less young smokers, with the lowest numbers for this age group in 25 years reported.
Researchers looked at data between 2023-2024 and found that middle and high school students who used any kind of tobacco product dropped 20%. The significant drop is mostly because of a decline in e-cigarette or vape use. In 2024, 1.63 million students said they used e-cigarettes, down from 2.13 million in 2023.
Cigarette smoking rates also reached record lows. Only 1.4% of students said they smoked tobacco. CDC officials believe the overall decline is because of price increases, smoke-free policies and social media campaigns targeted at students.
Health officials said reaching a 25-year low for youth tobacco product use is a huge milestone, but emphasize there’s still work to do.
The report found some disparities by race and ethnicity. Tobacco use rose among Native Americans and Alaska Native students while current use of nicotine pouches increased among white students.
The study included 30,000 students at more than 280 schools. The response rate was about 33%.
