Teen e-cigarette use sinks to lowest level in a decade

Teen vaping is down to its lowest point in the last decade. A half-million fewer adolescents used electronic cigarettes in 2024 compared to 2023.

The report from the National Youth Tobacco Survey was released Thursday by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The survey, which is a yearly self-administered survey of students in middle school and high school, focused on vaping and on nicotine pouch use.

The director of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products, Brian King, called the drop in use of tobacco products by youths in the U.S. a “monumental public health win” that results from the “relentless efforts by the FDA, CDC and others” to curb teen tobacco use.

According to the students’ self reports, the share of middle and high school students who said they’d used e-cigarettes in the past 30 days dropped from 7.7% (2.13 million youths) to 5.9% (1.63 million) in 2024. The drop was seen among high school students, with “no statistically significant change in current e-cigarette use among middle school students within the past year,” per a news release on the findings.

The CDC said the number of teens using e-cigarettes is about a third of what it was during peak use in 2019, when more than 5 million youth reported current vaping.

But a lot of young people do still vape, the report found. And among those who do, more than a quarter use e-cigarettes every day. The vast majority (87.6%) use flavored products — most often fruit, candy or mint flavorings.

Per the report, “Disposable e-cigarette products were the most common product type used; however, the most popular brands included both disposable and cartridge-based products. Among youth who currently used e-cigarettes, the most commonly reported brands were Elf Bar (36.1%), Breeze (19.9%), Mr. Fog (15.8%), Vuse (13.7%) and JUUL (12.6%).”

The report said the biggest drop was in the use of Elf Bar brand e-cigarette products, down to 36.1% from 56.7% among those who vape. “Elf Bar is not authorized by the FDA and has been the subject of focused compliance and enforcement actions by the agency since early 2023, including more than 1,000 warning letters and 240 civil money penalties to retailers and others in the supply chain,” the release said. “The FDA has also issued import alerts that include products under the Elf Bar brand, which places them on the ‘red list’ and allows the agency to detain products without conducting a full inspection at the time of entry.”

There was no significant change in use of nicotine pouch products by adolescents, the report said. In 2024, 1.8% of teens (about half a million youths) said they use them — and of those, more than 1 in 5 used them daily. Again, the vast majority used flavored products.

Resources for parents, teachers

The FDA offers free science-based lesson plans and materials for teachers and parents online. And the CDC has an array of resources , including an “Empower Vape-Free Youth” campaign.

The New York Times reported that “The F.D.A. also released an award-winning ad campaign on YouTube, Snapchat and Instagram warning about the heavy metals and formaldehyde in e-cigarettes that can be delivered to the lungs and one teen’s struggle to quit.”

And the article noted another possible reason that numbers are down. California and Massachusetts both banned flavored tobacco, which is hands-down the most popular type of tobacco product among teens.