Young Americans' Tobacco Use Not Declining
A CDC report says 4.7 million middle and high school students use at least one tobacco product. "E-cigarettes are now the most commonly used tobacco product among youth, and use continues to climb," said CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden, M.D., MPH.
According to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, overall tobacco use by middle and high school students has not changed since 2011. The news comes as a result of new data published by the agency in partnership with the FDA.
It says 4.7 million middle school and high school students were current users of a tobacco product in 2015, and more than 2.3 million of those were current users of two or more tobacco products. The most common product for this age group was e-cigarettes, used by 16 percent of high school and 5.3 percent of middle school students.
From 2011 to 2015, tobacco use among youths saw a significant decrease. That was no longer the case from 2014-2015.
"E-cigarettes are now the most commonly used tobacco product among youth, and use continues to climb," said CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden, M.D., MPH. "No form of youth tobacco use is safe. Nicotine is an addictive drug, and use during adolescence may cause lasting harm to brain development."