Statistics show that every 1 in 9 United States middle and high school students have reported tobacco product use within the last 30 days, with the most common tobacco product being an e-cigarette, according to a CDC and US Food and Drug Administration report.
The report analyzed data from the 2022 National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS) and shows that an estimated 3.08 million students from the 6th grade to the 12th grade are currently using tobacco products.
The data was collected from a survey of 28,291 middle and high school students conducted between mid-January and May 2022 collected from 341 schools across the country, demonstrating that tobacco product use remains high.
The data says that 16.5% of high school students and 4.5% of middle school students reported using a tobacco product in the past 30 days and furthermore, 14% of high school students and about 3% of middle school students reported that they have used electronic cigarettes.
“Continued surveillance, sustained implementation of population-based tobacco control strategies, and efforts to address disparities, combined with the Food and Drug Administration’s regulation are warranted to prevent and reduce youth tobacco use,” the report notes.
