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The use of tobacco products among American teenagers has reached its lowest level in 25 years, according to 2024 federal estimates. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reported that approximately 8% of U.S. teens admit to using tobacco products, marking the lowest rate since 1999. This equates to about 2.25 million middle and high school students, a decrease of 500,000 from the previous year.
The decline in tobacco use among young people is largely attributed to a significant drop in e-cigarette use. The National Youth Tobacco Survey revealed that the number of high school students using e-cigarettes fell from 2.13 million in 2023 to 1.63 million in 2024. Despite e-cigarettes being the most commonly used tobacco product among young people, only 5.9% of smokers reported using them, compared to 1.4% using traditional cigarettes and 1.2% using cigars.
Other forms of tobacco use among young people also saw a decrease. The number of youth hookah users fell from 290,000 in 2023 to 190,000 in 2024. The use of heated tobacco products accounted for 0.8% of youth tobacco use, followed by hookahs at 0.7%, and pipe tobacco at 0.5%.
The CDC attributes the reduction in youth tobacco use to a combination of factors, including price increases for tobacco products, mass media campaigns educating youth on the dangers of tobacco use, and the Food and Drug Administration's regulation of tobacco product sales and enforcement of compliance among manufacturers, importers, distributors, and retailers of tobacco products.