Youth tobacco use is at a 25-year low. Here's what drove the decline.

The share of young people using tobacco reached a 25-year low, a new study shows. Experts call it a major milestone in public health.

A survey of U.S. high school and middle school students found that the decline in tobacco use stemmed from a drop in the number of kids using e-cigarettes, still the preferred product among youth, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study published in October.

"Reaching a 25-year low for youth tobacco product use is an extraordinary milestone for public health. However, with more than 2 million youth using tobacco products and certain groups not experiencing declines in use, our mission is far from complete," said Deirdre Lawrence Kittner, director of CDC's Office on Smoking and Health.

"We must remain committed to public health efforts to ensure all youth can live healthy, tobacco-free lives," Kittner added.

Here's how tobacco use among middle and high schoolers has changed in the past decade:

Tobacco use among teens is on the decline

In 2024, 8% of middle and high school students, or about 2.25 million youth, were estimated to have used a tobacco product in the last 30 days, compared with about 2.8 million children who said they smoked in 2023.

The numbers were higher among high school students, 10% of whom said they regularly used tobacco products. Among middle school kids, 5% said they smoked tobacco.

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The decline in recent years is considerable given that when the National Youth Tobacco Survey first began in 1999, about one-third of high school students used tobacco products, and 10% of middle school students smoked, Kristy Marynak, a senior science adviser at the CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health told Paste BN.

At that time, youth were largely smoking cigarettes or chewing tobacco, since vaping didn't exist.

Which tobacco products are kids using? 

Youth e-cigarette use declined to the lowest level in a decade; however, for the 11th year in a row, e-cigarettes remained the most commonly used tobacco product (5.9%) among youth who reported tobacco product use.

In 2024, nicotine pouches became the second most commonly used tobacco product among youth.

Vaping has topped the list as the most popular method of using tobacco for the past 11 years. In 2024, 6% of youth said they vaped tobacco.

The most popular tobacco product for underage users was e-cigs, with 1.63 million students reporting using vapes in 2024, a major decline from 2.1 million reported users in 2023. Among teen vapers, 88% said they used flavored vapes.

Disposable products were the most commonly used e-cigarette device type among youth.

The most popular brands of disposable and cartridge products were:

◾ Elf Bars (36.1% users)

◾ Esco Bars (19.9%)

◾ Vuse (13.7%)

◾ JUUL (12.6%)

Findings show demographic differences in whose using

Exposure to nicotine is dangerous to youth brain development

The study reported that the use of middle and high school students who used multiple tobacco products was particularly concerning because of its association with nicotine dependence, which increases the likelihood of long-term tobacco use into adulthood.

The study also cited the importance of restricting sales to underage users, increasing prices, banning flavored products and prohibiting indoor use of tobacco products.

This story was updated to add new information.