1 in 7 U.S. High School Students Now Vapes

THURSDAY, Oct. 6, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Teen vaping continues at concerning levels, U.S. health officials reported Thursday.

About 2.5 million middle school and high school students reported that they had vaped in the past 30 days in 2022, according to new data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

That was 14.1% of high school students and 3.3% of those in middle school.

"This study shows that our nation's youth continue to be enticed and hooked by an expanding variety of e-cigarette brands delivering flavored nicotine," said Deirdre Lawrence Kittner, director of the CDC's Office on Smoking and Health.

"Our work is far from over," Kittner said in a CDC news release. "It's critical that we work together to prevent youth from starting to use any tobacco product -- including e-cigarettes -- and help all youth who do use them to quit."

The findings are from the National Youth Tobacco Survey, conducted among U.S. students in 6^th through 12^th grades between Jan. 18 and May 31. They were published Oct. 6 in the CDC publication Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Among the youth who vape, about 85% used flavored e-cigarettes. The brands they used were Puff Bar, with 14.5% calling it their usual brand, Vuse at 12.5%, Hyde at 5.5% and SMOK at 4%. More than half used disposable e-cigarettes. Most used flavors were fruit at 69.1%, candy or desserts at 38.3%, mint at 29.4% and menthol at 26.6%.

About 27.6% of youth who vape did so daily. About 42.3% vaped on 20 or more of the past 30 days.

E-cigarettes contain nicotine, which is addictive and can harm the developing adolescent brain, the CDC said. It may also increase risk for future addiction to other drugs. E-cigarettes have been the most popular tobacco product for U.S. youths since 2014.

"Adolescent e-cigarette use in the United States remains at concerning levels, and poses a serious public health risk to our nation’s youth," said Brian King, director of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products.

"Together with the CDC, protecting our nation’s youth from the dangers of tobacco products -- including e-cigarettes -- remains among the FDA's highest priorities, and we are committed to combatting this issue with the breadth of our regulatory authorities," he said in the release.

More information

The American Heart Association has more about the dangers of vaping.

SOURCE: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, news release, Oct. 6, 2022