Vital Signs

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Tobacco Use by Youth is Rising

E-cigarettes are the main reason

To make CDC health information more accessible to the public, more interesting to the media, and more relevant to policymakers, CDC created Vital Signs—a monthly publication that uses concise and compelling data to communicate vital health information on select topics. The CDC Vital Signs for February 2019 reports youth tobacco product use increased during 2017-2018, erasing past progress in reducing youth tobacco product use driven by a surge in e-cigarette use.
The Vital Signs report contains several products, including an MMWR Early Release, social media messages, and a web page containing a video, a podcast, and a fact sheet in English and Spanish.

Tobacco Use by Youth Is Rising: E-cigarettes Are the Main Reason

Tobacco product use among US youth is increasing. More than 1 in 4 high school students and about 1 in 14 middle school students in 2018 had used a tobacco product in the past 30 days. This was a considerable increase from 2017, which was driven by an increase in e-cigarette use. E-cigarette use increased from 11.7% to 20.8% among high school students and from 3.3% to 4.9% among middle school students from 2017 to 2018. No change was found in the use of other tobacco products, including cigarettes, during this time.

Among youth:

  • E-cigarettes are still the most commonly used tobacco product, ahead of cigarettes, cigars, smokeless tobacco, hookah, and pipes.
  • E-cigarettes are the most commonly used product in combination with other tobacco products.
  • E-cigarette use is highest for boys, whites, and high school students.
Related Pages and Resources
Other Sites
Science Behind the Report
Related Vital Signs Reports
Page last reviewed: February 8, 2019
Content source: Office on Smoking and Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion