A new study shows that fewer young people in the United States use e-cigarettes and few use nicotine pouches.The National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS) was released by the government-funded U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).The survey asked middle and high school students about their use of e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches.The survey found nicotine pouch use did not change much from 2023 to 2024. About 1.5% of youth used nicotine pouches in 2023 and 1.8% in 2024.Of the nearly half a million middle and high school students who use nicotine pouches, 22.4% use them every day. The most popular brands are Zyn (68.7%), On! (14.2%), Rogue (13.6%), Velo (10.7%), and Juice Head ZTN (9.8%).The most popular flavours are mint (53.3%), fruit (22.4%), and menthol (19.3%).The survey also found about 500,000 fewer young people used e-cigarettes in 2024 than in 2023.In 2023, about 2.13 million (7.7%) youth used e-cigarettes. In 2024, this number dropped to 1.63 million (5.9%).This drop was mainly due to fewer high school students using e-cigarettes, which decreased from 1.56 million to 1.21 million. There was little change in middle school students use of e-cigarettes.The number of young people using e-cigarettes in 2024 is about one-third of what it was at its highest point in 2019. Back then, over 5 million youth said they used e-cigarettes and now their use is at the lowest level in over ten years.“The continued decline in e-cigarette use among our nation’s youth is a monumental public health win,” said Brian King, Director of FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products. “This progress is a testament to the relentless efforts by the FDA, CDC and others, particularly over the past half decade. But we can’t rest on our laurels, as there’s still more work to do to further reduce youth e-cigarette use.”The survey found that about 26.3% of youth who use e-cigarettes use them every day. Most young e-cigarette users (87.6%) use flavoured products. The most popular flavours are fruit (62.8%), candy (33.3%), and mint (25.1%).Disposable e-cigarettes are the most commonly used type. The most popular brands include both disposable and cartridge-based products. The top brands are Elf Bar (36.1%), Breeze (19.9%), Mr. Fog (15.8%), Vuse (13.7%), and JUUL (12.6%).The drop in e-cigarette use among young people is good news for public health. But health officials say there is still work to do to keep reducing youth nicotine product use.
