1:Kids are flocking to flavored, disposable e-cigarettes, study finds

October 12, 2022

More than 2.5 million adolescents are current e-cigarette users in 2022, with the majority choosing flavored, disposable products, according to a government study released Thursday that officials said showed youth vaping remains a serious public health problem.

The findings, from the National Youth Tobacco Survey conducted by the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, show more than 14 percent of high-schoolers and 3.3 percent of middle-schoolers are current users, defined as those who used e-cigarettes at least one day in the past month. The data was published in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

CDC officials cautioned against comparing the results of the 2022 survey with those of recent years because of changes in data collection procedures during the coronavirus pandemic. In 2021, the study estimated there were 2.06 million current e-cigarette users — 11.3 percent of students in high school and 2.8 percent of students in middle school. Youth vaping peaked in 2019, with 5.4 million middle and high school students reporting use of e-cigarettes.

Amid the controversies, FDA Commissioner Robert M. Califf asked for an outside review of the tobacco center.

For the vaping survey, middle and high school students took the self-administered questionnaires between January and May. The survey assessed current e-cigarette use, and the devices, flavors and brands used.

Advocates acknowledged that some progress has been made against youth vaping. In 2019, the report showed 27.5 percent of high-schoolers and 10.5 percent of middle-schoolers were current users.‘