MONDAY, Nov. 6, 2023 (HealthDay News) — From 2022 to 2023, there was a decrease in reported current use of any tobacco product by high school students, according to research published in the Nov. 3 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Jan Birdsey, M.P.H., from the CDC in Atlanta, and colleagues examined tobacco product use patterns among U.S. middle and high school students (grades 6 to 8 and 9 to 12, respectively) using data from the 2023 National Youth Tobacco Survey.

The researchers found that current (i.e., past 30-day) use of any tobacco product was reported by 10.0 percent of U.S. middle and high school students (2.80 million). From 2022 to 2023, there was a decrease in current use of any tobacco product by high school students, from 2.51 million to 1.97 million, and a decrease in current electronic cigarette use among high school students, from 14.1 to 10.0 percent. In 2023, e-cigarette products were the most used tobacco products among middle and high school students (7.7 percent), followed by cigarettes, cigars, and nicotine pouches (1.6, 1.6, and 1.5 percent, respectively). Overall, 46.7 percent of students who had ever used an e-cigarette reported current use. Of the students reporting current e-cigarette use in 2023, 89.4 percent used flavored products and 25.2 percent used an e-cigarette daily.

“A continued comprehensive approach to tobacco use prevention is needed to further reduce tobacco use among youths, based on knowledge about youth product use behaviors,” the authors write.

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