Trends in Tobacco Use Among Youth
Trend data for youth tobacco product use in the United States show the rates of use of these products and indicate the types of tobacco products that are becoming more popular among middle and high school students.
While tobacco product use among U.S. youth declined, continued efforts are needed to sustain this progress and to prevent and reduce all forms of their tobacco product use.
- After increasing between 2017 and 2019, current (past 30 day) use of e-cigarettes went down among middle and high school students from 2019 to 2020.1,2,3,4
- About 1 of every 20 middle school students (4.7%) reported in 2020 that they used e-cigarettes in the past 30 days—a decrease from 10.5% in 2019.3,4
- About 1 of every 5 high school students (19.6%) reported in 2020 that they used electronic cigarettes in the past 30 days—a decrease from 27.5% in 2019.3,4
- From 2011 to 2020, current use of smokeless tobacco went down among middle and high school students:1,2,3,4,5
- About 1 of every 100 middle school students (1.2%) reported in 2020 that they had used smokeless tobacco in the past 30 days—a decrease from 2.2% in 2011.4,5
- About 3 of every 100 high school students (3.1%) reported in 2019 that they had used smokeless tobacco in the past 30 days—a decrease from 7.9% in 2011.4,5
- From 2011 to 2020, current use of hookahs did not change much among middle school students. Current use of hookahs among high school students declined from 2011 to 2019, then saw no change from 2019 to 2020.1,2,3,4,5
- About 1 of every 100 middle school students (1.3%) reported in 2020 that they had smoked hookah in the past 30 days. The prevalence was 1.0% in 2011.4,5
- Nearly 3 of every 100 high school students (2.7%) reported in 2020 that they had smoked hookah in the past 30 days. The prevalence was 4.1% in 2011.4,5
- From 2019 to 2020, current use of any tobacco product went down among middle and high school students.3,4
- About 7 of every 100 middle school students (6.7%) reported in 2020 that they had used any tobacco product in the past 30 days—a decrease from 12.5% in 2019.3,4
- About 23 of every 100 high school students (23.6%) reported in 2020 that they had used any tobacco product in the past 30 days—a decrease from 31.2% in 2019.3,4
- From 2019 to 2020, current use of two or more tobacco products went down among middle and high school students.3,4
- About 3 of every 100 middle school students (2.8%) reported in 2020 that they had used two or more tobacco products in the past 30 days—a decrease from 4.0% in 2019.3,4
- About 8 of every 100 high school students (8.2%) reported in 2020 that they had used two or more tobacco products in the past 30 days—a decrease from 10.8% in 2019.3,4
- Wang TW, Gentzke A, Sharapova S, Cullen KA, Ambrose BK, Jamal A. Tobacco Product Use Among Middle and High School Students – United States, 2011-2017. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2018 Jun 8;67(22):629-633. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6722a3.
- Gentzke AS, Creamer M, Cullen KA, et al. Vital Signs: Tobacco Product Use Among Middle and High School Students – United States, 2011-2018. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2019;68(6):157-164. Published 2019 Feb 15. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6806e1.
- Wang TW, Gentzke AS, Creamer MR, et al. Tobacco Product Use and Associated Factors Among Middle and High School Students — United States, 2019. MMWR Surveill Summ 2019;68(No. SS-12):1–22. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.ss6812a1.
- Gentzke AS, Wang TW, Jamal A, et al. Tobacco Product Use Among Middle and High School Students — United States, 2020. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2020;69:1881–1888. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6950a1.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Tobacco product use among middle and high school students–United States, 2011 and 2012. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2013; 62(45):893-7. Erratum in: MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2013; 62(46):940.
- Gentzke AS, Wang TW, Cornelius M, Park-Lee E, Ren C, Sawdey MD, Cullen KA, Loretan C, Jamal A, Homa DM. Tobacco Product Use and Associated Factors Among Middle and High School Students – National Youth Tobacco Survey, United States, 2021. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 2022; 71(No. SS-5):1–29.