October 7, 2022 – More than 2.5 million middle and high school students in the United States use e-cigarettes, according to New study From the CDC and the FDA.
The 2022 National Youth Tobacco Survey, conducted between January and May, showed that 14% of high school students and 3.3% of middle school students have used nicotine devices at least once in the past 30 days. A year ago, the survey showed that 11.3% of high school students and 2.8% of middle school students reported having used vaping in the past month.
The numbers remain lower than 2019 data, which showed that more than 25% of high school students smoke e-cigarettes. Even so, anti-tobacco and anti-vaping groups have urged federal regulators to eliminate flavored e-cigarette products popular with teens.
In this year’s survey, 85% of teens who used e-cigarettes said they had used flavored e-cigarettes. The most frequently used flavors were fruit (69%); candy, sweets or sweets (38%); mint (29%); and menthol (27%).
“It is unacceptable that more than 2.5 million children are still using e-cigarettes when there is a clear solution to the problem — get rid of all flavored e-cigarettes,” said Matthew Myers, president of Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, He told USA Today.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has banned tobacco-derived flavored e-cigarette products. However, users have increasingly turned to synthetic nicotine products, which are often discarded and sold in a variety of flavors, the paper reported.
In 2022, teens reported many different favorite brands, unlike in 2019, when JUUL was the most popular brand. Among those who currently use e-cigarettes, 14.5% said their usual brand was Puff Bar, followed by 12.5% for Vuse, 5.5% for Hyde, and 4% for SMOK. Additionally, nearly 22% said their usual brand was not among the 13 included in the survey.
About 28% of young adults reported using e-cigarettes daily, and 42% reported using them on 20 or more days in the past 30 days.
Additionally, about 55% of teen vapers said they use single-use e-cigarettes. About 25% use prefilled or refillable capsules, and 7% use tanks or adjustment systems. Another 23% said they did not know what type of device they used.
“This study shows that the youth of our nation continue to be attracted and educated by a growing range of e-cigarette brands that offer flavored nicotine,” said Deirdre Lawrence Kettner, director of the CDC’s Office of Smoking and Health. in the current situation.
“Our work is not over yet,” she said. “It is critical that we work together to prevent young people from starting to use any tobacco product – including e-cigarettes – and to help all young people who use them quit.”
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