Overall tobacco use by middle and high school
students has not changed since 2011, according to
new data published by the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Food and
Drug Administration’s (FDA) Center for Tobacco
Products in today’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly
Report (MMWR).
Data from the 2015 National Youth Tobacco Survey
show that 4.7 million middle and high school
students were current users (at least once in the
past 30 days) of a tobacco product in 2015, and more
than 2.3 million of those students were current
users of two or more tobacco products. Three million
middle and high school students were current users
of e-cigarettes in 2015, up from 2.46 million in
2014.
Sixteen percent of high school and 5.3 percent of
middle school students were current users of
e-cigarettes in 2015, making e-cigarettes the most
commonly used tobacco product among youth for the
second consecutive year. During 2011 through 2015,
e-cigarette use rose from 1.5 percent to 16.0
percent among high school students and from 0.6
percent to 5.3 percent among middle school students.
From 2011 through 2015, significant decreases in
current cigarette smoking occurred among youth, but
there was no significant change in the prevalence of
current cigarette smoking among this group during
2014 - 2015.
In 2015, 9.3 percent of high school students and 2.3
percent of middle school students reported current
cigarette use, making cigarettes the
second-most-used tobacco product among both middle
and high school students.
“E-cigarettes are now the most commonly used tobacco
product among youth, and use continues to climb,”
said CDC Director Tom Frieden, M.D., M.P.H. “No form
of youth tobacco use is safe. Nicotine is an
addictive drug and use during adolescence may cause
lasting harm to brain development.”
Students use many forms of tobacco. In addition to
e-cigarettes and cigarettes, high school students
used other tobacco products:
8.6 percent smoked cigars,
7.2 percent used hookahs,
6.0 percent used smokeless tobacco, percent smoked
pipe tobacco, and
0.6 percent smoked bidis.
After e-cigarettes and cigarettes, middle school
students reported using these products:
2.0 percent used hookahs,
1.8 percent used smokeless tobacco,
1.6 percent smoked cigars,
0.4 percent smoked pipe tobacco, and
0.2 percent smoked bidis.
Among non-Hispanic white and Hispanic high school
students, e-cigarettes were the most commonly used
tobacco product. Among non-Hispanic black high
school students, cigars were the most commonly used
tobacco product. Cigarette use was higher among
non-Hispanic whites than among non-Hispanic blacks.
Smokeless tobacco use was higher among non-Hispanic
whites than students of other races.
“We’re very concerned that one in four high school
students use tobacco, and that almost half of those
use more than one product,” said Corinne Graffunder,
Dr.P.H., M.P.H., director of CDC’s Office on Smoking
and Health. “We know about 90 percent of all adult
smokers first try cigarettes as teens. Fully
implementing proven tobacco control strategies could
prevent another generation of Americans from
suffering from tobacco-related diseases and
premature deaths.”
FDA has regulatory authority over cigarettes,
cigarette tobacco, roll-your-own tobacco, and
smokeless tobacco. The agency is finalizing the rule
to bring additional tobacco products such as
e-cigarettes, hookahs, and some or all cigars under
that same authority.
“The FDA remains deeply concerned about the overall
high rate at which children and adolescents use
tobacco products, including novel products such as
e-cigarettes and hookah,” said Mitch Zeller, J.D.,
director of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products.
“Finalizing the rule to bring additional products
under the agency’s tobacco authority is one of our
highest priorities, and we look forward to a day in
the near future when such products are properly
regulated and responsibly marketed.”
Regulating the manufacturing, distribution, and
marketing of tobacco products – coupled with proven
population-based strategies – can reduce youth
tobacco use and initiation. These strategies include
funding tobacco control programs at CDC-recommended
levels, increasing prices of tobacco products,
implementing and enforcing comprehensive smoke-free
laws, and sustaining hard-hitting media campaigns.
For more information
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)
Tobacco Use Among Middle and High School Students —
United States, 2011–2015
Link...
MDN |