April 2015

This week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released its annual survey data on tobacco and nicotine use by youth in the U.S. The CDC reported that in 2014, among all high school students, e-cigarettes (13.4%) were the most common tobacco products used, followed by hookahs (9.4%), cigarettes (9.2%), cigars (8.2%), smokeless tobacco (5.5%), and other products. Among high school students, current e-cigarette use tripled from 660,000 in 2013 to 2 million in 2014, and among middle school students, the prevalence of e-cigarette use increased from 120,000 to 450,000.

While much of the attention focused on the dramatic rise in youth e-cigarette use, the CDC data shows that other forms of tobacco continue to be a problem. Among high school males, cigar use (10.8%) equals cigarette use (10.6%). Overall, 20.9% of surveyed high school students use one tobacco product and 10.0% use two or more tobacco products.

CDC's data further highlight the urgent need for the Food and Drug Administration to finalize its authority over all tobacco products. Over a year ago, FDA issued proposed regulation, but has not yet issued the final rules. The ATS will continue to urge FDA to regulate all tobacco products.