A Look at Youth E-Cigarette Usage in America

 

    Almost 1/5^th of U.S. high school students use e-cigarettes to some degree, according to data from the 2020 National Youth Tobacco Survey. Additionally, disposable e-cigarette products saw a sharp rise in usage rates in 2019-2020. Only 2.4 percent of high school students reported using disposable e-cigarette products (Puff Bars, Juul pods) the year prior, but in 2020 that number increased by 1000 percent to 26.5 percent of high schoolers. These numbers may seem disheartening at first glance, as they still represent “epidemic levels” of usage according to tobaccofreekids.org, but several reasons lead to optimism about the decline of youth e-cigarette usage rates.

            Perhaps the most encouraging data from this year’s NYTS is a significant drop in the percentage of high school vapers, down to 19.6 percent in 2020 compared to 27.5 percent in 2019. Tobaccofreekids.org mentions state and federal prohibitions on flavored e-cigarettes as one factor in the decline, and since the data was collected from Jan. 16 to March 16, 2020 we know the Covid-19 pandemic did not affect usage rates. While disposable e-cigarette products rose astronomically in the past year, the federal ban on flavors (despite some loopholes) should help that number go down. Indeed, the survey lists fruit flavors as the most popular among all high school vapers (73.1 percent) and for those who use disposables (66 percent). With fruit flavors being so popular, it is conceivable that a not-insignificant portion of students may find tobacco flavored pods an unacceptable substitute for their berry and citrus counterparts.

            Concerning the Covid-19 pandemic, it is likely that high schoolers are vaping less overall due to the previously nonexistent difficulty of going out in public. As the pandemic shows no signs of slowing down, by the time the NYTS collects data in the beginning of 2021 those factors may still be at play. Researchers and analysts must try to determine the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on youth e-cigarette usage in order to avoid any false conclusions drawn from the survey data.

            Overall, youth e-cigarette usage has declined significantly in one year due in part to newly implemented laws and regulations. As the pandemic continues, health organizations and policy makers cannot forget about addressing the high rates of youth usage in order to continue the downward trend in usage rates.