More high school students seem to be giving up their cigarettes this year—unfortunately, the younger age group isn’t following suit.
This week, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a new study that supports their claims that while high school students seem to be kicking the habit, the same cannot be said for younger students in high school.
The use of e-cigarettes and other forms of tobacco among high school students dropped from 14.1 percent to 10.0 percent from 2022 to 2023, according to the CDC’s latest report.
From hot ice to the pool, teens are coming up with creative ways to ditch the vape
As for the actual numbers, the CDC added, “Current use of any tobacco product by high school students decreased by an estimated 540,000 students, from 2.51 million in 2022 to 1.97 million in 2023.”
“It is encouraging to see this significant decline in e-cigarette use among high school students over the past year, which is a victory for public health,” Brian King, director of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products, said in a statement.
For high school students, their current overall use of tobacco products increased to 6.6% from 4.5%, but there was no significant change in e-cigarette use alone.
Deirdre Lawrence Kittner, Ph.D., MPH, director of the CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health said, “The decline in e-cigarette use among high school students shows great progress, but our work is far from over.”
Kittner continued, “The findings of this report underscore the threat that commercial use of tobacco products poses to the health of our nation’s youth.”
Vaping. Getty Images
The organization analyzed research from the 2023 National Youth Smoking Survey on the prevalence of ever and current use of nine types of tobacco products, flavored tobacco products and e-cigarettes among the two groups.
Popular brands that topped the list of disposables and cartridges included Elf Bars, Esco Bars, Vuse, JUUL, and Mr. Fog.
The CDC states that the popularity of disposable e-cigarettes can be attributed to the fact that they are “relatively inexpensive, high in nicotine, and available in flavors that appeal to youth.”
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“FDA remains concerned about youth use of tobacco products, and we cannot and will not let our guard down on this issue,” King continued. “The agency has a number of enforcement tools at our disposal and we are committed to using them as needed.”
In its report, the CDC said that in order to further reduce tobacco use among youth, it will implement proven smoking prevention policies, such as raising the price of its products and continuing anti-marketing campaigns.
Last month, PEOPLE spoke exclusively with Saturday night live alum Chris Parnell on lending his voice to an anti-vaping campaign aimed at teenagers.
The Rick and Morty actor, 56, teamed up with the Truth Initiative for their “Toxic Therapy” campaign, in which he voices an evil vape teenage therapist.
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“He does not have the best interests of the person in the session in mind. He sounds a lot like a real therapist, but a therapist with an agenda,” Parnell said of the “sly and deceptive” character.
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education