Report reveals increase in tobacco consumption among teenagers

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A study released today from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that 3.08 million (11.3%) U.S. middle and high school students reported current (past 30-day) use of any tobacco product in 2022, which includes 2.51 million (16.5%) high school students and 530,000 (4.5%) middle school students.
The study assessed eight commercial tobacco products. E-cigarettes—for the ninth consecutive year—were the most commonly used tobacco product among all students (2.55 million), followed by cigars (500,000), cigarettes (440,000), smokeless tobacco (330,000), hookah (290,000), nicotine pouches (280,000), heated tobacco products (260,000), and pipe tobacco (150,000). The term “tobacco product” as used in this report refers to commercial tobacco products and not to sacred and traditional use of tobacco by some American Indian communities.
Among all race and ethnicity groups, non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaska Native students had the highest percentage of any tobacco product use (13.5%), while non-Hispanic White students reported the highest percentage of e-cigarette use (11.0%). Approximately one million youth reported using any combustible tobacco product; non-Hispanic Black students reported the highest percentage of fuel tobacco product use (5.7%), including cigar use (3.3%).
Additional groups with a higher percentage of tobacco product use were those reporting grades of mostly Fs (27.2%); those reporting severe symptoms of psychological distress (18.3%); those who identified as transgender (16.6%) or as lesbian, gay, or bisexual (16.0%); and those with low family affluence (12.5%).
“Commercial tobacco product use continues to threaten the health of our nation’s youth, and disparities in youth tobacco product use persist,” said Deirdre Lawrence Kittner, Ph.D., M.P.H., director of CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health. “By addressing the factors that lead to youth tobacco product use and helping youth to quit, we can give our nation’s young people the best opportunity to live their healthiest lives.”
This study’s findings, published in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, were based on data from the 2022 National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS). NYTS, a cross-sectional, self-administered survey of the U.S. middle (grades 6–8) and high (grades 9–12) school students, was administered January 18–May 31, 2022. Changes in methodology limit the ability to compare estimates from 2022 with those from prior years.
“It’s clear we’ve made commendable progress in cigarette smoking among our nation’s reducing youth. However, with an ever-changing tobacco product landscape, there’s still more work to be done,” said Brian King, Ph.D., M.P.H., director of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products. “We must continue to tackle all forms of tobacco product use among youth, including meaningfully addressing the notable disparities that continue to persist.”