New government data released Thursday about tobacco use finds electronic cigarette use among high school students is on the rise, prompting calls for tougher regulation by medical organizations and anti-smoking advocates.
While the number of middle school students who reported using an e-cigarette in the last 30 days remained the same at 1.1% in 2013, the number of high school students who said they had used the devices jumped from 2.8% in 2012 to 4.5% in 2013. That percentage was triple the high-school use rate reported in 2011 of 1.5%.
Results from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's latest National Youth Tobacco Survey found that cigarette smoking among both middle school and high school students has continued to decline. The number of high school students who reported smoking decreased from 14% in 2012 to 12.7% in 2013, while the rate among middle school students fell from 3.5% in 2012 to 2.9% in 2013.
But tobacco products are still commonly used, according to the report. Around 23% of high school students and 6.5% of middle school students reported using a tobacco product within the last 30 days, which includes up to 10 products including cigarettes, e-cigarettes, hookahs, pipes, cigars and smokeless tobacco.
“Nine out of ten smokers tried their first cigarette by age 18,” Dr. Tim McAfee, director of the CDC's Office on Smoking and Health, said in a news release. “We must do more to prevent our youth from using tobacco products, or we will see millions of them suffer and die prematurely as adults. Fully implementing proven tobacco control programs would help keep our youth from falling victim to tobacco.”
Health experts have been calling for stricter regulations over electronic cigarettes because of their growing popularity with teens in recent years. E-cig opponents say the devices can be advertised on TV and radio and offer flavors that directly appeal to younger people.
In April, the Food and Drug Administration proposed rules that would prohibit electronic cigarette sales to those under the age of 18.
A number of groups including the American Medical Association have recently voiced their support of tougher regulations of e-cigarettes in an effort to reduce their use among children and teens.
“The AMA supports the FDA's proposed rule to regulate electronic cigarettes, and we urge the federal government to implement more stringent regulations that will further protect our nation's youth and overall public health,” the organization said in a statement. “The new policy will continue the AMA's efforts to deter the sale of electronic cigarettes to minors and ensure the necessary regulation of nicotine delivery systems.”
American College of Cardiology President Dr. Patrick O'Gara described the CDC report's findings as “disheartening”, and called for final regulations to be issued quickly.
“E-cigarettes, and particularly flavored e-cigarettes, are marketed to young people with tactics that are misleading at best, and may be a gateway to the use of traditional cigarettes and nicotine addiction,” O'Gara said in a statement. “It is critical that e-cigarettes and advertising for e-cigarettes be regulated so that children, adolescents and young adults do not start using an addictive substance under the misimpression that inhaling the vapor of e-cigarettes is less dangerous than using tobacco products.”
E-cigarette sales reached nearly $2 billion in 2013 and are expected to climb even higher in the coming years. Industry analysts believe e-cigarette sales are on pace to eclipse the $80 billion-a-year tobacco cigarette market by 2040.
Follow Steven Ross Johnson on Twitter: @MHsjohnson
