More than 3 million middle, high school students report tobacco use

More than 3 million middle and high school students reported continuous tobacco use in 2022, according to findings published in MMWR.

Last year, as part of the National Youth Tobacco Survey, more than 2.5 million students reported currently using tobacco, with symptoms such as wheezing and shortness of breath also being reported in youth users.

This year’s edition of the survey, which gathered responses from students at 341 public and private schools from January through May, found that 3.08 million students reported use of a tobacco product in the last 30 days, representing almost one in nine students. An estimated 2.51 million students of the students were high-school aged, whereas 530,000 were in middle school.

The survey revealed that e-cigarettes were the most commonly used product among all students, with 2.55 million reporting use of such a device, followed by cigars, cigarettes and smokeless tobacco. About 31% of the 3.08 million students reported using more than one tobacco product in the last 30 days.

“Multiple tobacco product use among youths is particularly concerning because it is associated with nicotine dependence, which increases the likelihood of sustained tobacco use in childhood,” the authors wrote.

Outside of continuous use, about a quarter of all students surveyed — 24.8% — reported ever having used any tobacco product.

The likelihood of using tobacco products was associated with reporting F grades, symptoms of psychological distress, identifying as LGBT or reporting low family affluence, and current use of tobacco was higher among non-Hispanic Native American and Alaska Native students.

“Commercial tobacco product use continues to threaten the health of our nation’s youth, and disparities in youth tobacco product use persist,” Deirdre Lawrence Kittner, PhD, MPH, director of the CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health, said in a press release. “By addressing the factors that lead to youth tobacco product use and helping youth to quit, we can give our nation’s young people the best opportunity to live their healthiest lives.”

“It’s clear we’ve made commendable progress in reducing cigarette smoking among our nation’s youth. However, with an ever-changing tobacco product landscape, there’s still more work to be done,” Brian King, PhD, MPH, director of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products, said in the release. “We must continue to tackle all forms of tobacco product use among youth, including meaningfully addressing the notable disparities that continue to persist.”

The authors said continued surveillance efforts of all tobacco product types, “including novel products and sustained implementation of population-based tobacco control strategies combined with regulation by the FDA, are warranted to prevent and reduce youth tobacco product use.”

References:

• More than 3 million youth reported using a tobacco product in 2022. https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2022/p1110-youth-tobaco.html. Published Nov. 10, 2022. Accessed Nov. 10, 2022.
• Park-Lee E, et al. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2022;doi:10.15585/mmwr.mm7145a2.