Key findings from the report indicate that during the 2022-2023 academic year, about 10% of students in the specified grades, equating to 2.8 million youth, acknowledged using some form of tobacco product. Specifically, among high school students, current tobacco use decreased from 16.5% to 12.6%, resulting in approximately 580,000 fewer high school students currently using e-cigarettes.
However, the data reveals contrasting trends among middle school students, where overall tobacco use increased from 4.5% to 6.6%. Moreover, the use of multiple tobacco products, including cigarettes, cigars, e-cigarettes, and smokeless tobacco, increased from 1.5% to 2.5%. Notably, e-cigarette usage among middle school students remained relatively stable compared to the previous year.
The FDA emphasized that e-cigarettes continued to be the most commonly used tobacco product among both high school and middle school students for the tenth consecutive year. Dr. Brian King, director of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products, disclosed that out of 2.8 million students who reported tobacco use in the past year, approximately 2.1 million were e-cigarette users.
Moreover, it was noted that one in four students using e-cigarettes did so daily, with a significant majority (89.4%) opting for flavored products. Deirdre Lawrence Kittner, director of the CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health, acknowledged the progress made in reducing e-cigarette use among high school students but stressed that continued efforts are necessary to address the threat posed by commercial tobacco products to the nation’s youth.