In 2019, an estimated 53.3 percent (8 million) of high school students and 24.3 percent (2.9 million) of middle school students reported ever trying a tobacco product, according to the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report published Dec. 6.
The CDC analyzed data from the 2019 National Youth Tobacco Survey, a self-administered survey of U.S. middle school and high school students. Overall, 19,018 completed questionnaires were weighted to represent about 27 million students.
Below are seven key findings:
1. In 2019, about 1 in 4 youths (23 percent) had used a tobacco product during the past 30 days. Split by school level, that's 31.2 percent of high school students (4.7 million) and 12.5 percent of middle school students (1.5 million).
2. Since 2014, e-cigarettes have been the most used tobacco product by youths. During 2017-18, current e-cigarette use increased by 77.8 percent among high school students and 48.5 percent among middle school students.
3. In 2019, e-cigarettes were the most common product currently used by 27.5 percent of high school students (4.1 million) and 10.5 percent of middle school students (1.2 million).
4. Among students who had tried e-cigarettes, the three most common reasons for use were "I was curious about them" (55.3 percent), "friend or family member used them" (30.8 percent), and "they are available in flavors, such as mint, candy, fruit, or chocolate" (22.4 percent).
5. Among all students, 28.2 percent perceived no or little harm from intermittent e-cigarette use.
6. Over half of current youth tobacco product users (57.8 percent) reported seriously considering quitting all products in 2019.
7. In 2019, the prevalence of youth cigarette smoking was the lowest since 1999.
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