ATLANTA -- Almost 23% of high school students currently use a tobacco product, according to new data published by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) in the latest Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).
More than 90% of those using a tobacco product are using combustible tobacco products such as cigarettes, cigars, hookahs and pipes.
"Nine out of 10 smokers tried their first cigarette by age 18," said Tim McAfee, director of the CDC's Office on Smoking & Health. "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."
CDC's National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS) found that in 2013, 22.9% of high school students and 6.5% of middle school students reported using a tobacco product within the last 30 days. Nearly half (46%) of all high school students and 17.7% of middle school students said they had used a tobacco product at least once in their lifetime.
The survey also found that 12.6% of high school students say they currently use two or more tobacco products.
Youth who say they use more than one tobacco product are at higher risk for developing nicotine dependence that can lead to continued smoking into adulthood. Most youth who use tobacco believe they will be able to quit, but about three out of four high school smokers continue smoking into adulthood.
Among all high school students, 4.5% reported using electronic cigarettes within the last 30 days; and 1.1% of middle school students reported using e-cigarettes in the last 30 days.
Cigarettes were the most prevalent tobacco product used by white and Hispanic high school students (14.0% and 13.4%), although cigars were close behind (11.4% and 12.1%). Cigar use was more prevalent than cigarette use for other races/ethnicities. Cigar use among black high school students was nearly 50% higher than cigarette use (14.7% vs. 9.0%), and more than twice as high (4.5% vs 1.7%) among black middle school students.
Cigars are currently unregulated by FDA and are taxed at a lower rate. Some cigars are manufactured with fruit and candy flavors prohibited in cigarettes, and sold in small quantities with youth able to buy them at low cost.
"One effective strategy for reducing tobacco use among youth is raising the price," said Brian King, a senior scientific advisor with CDC's Office on Smoking & Health. "The Food & Drug Administration's new youth-focused media campaign, "The Real Cost," is also expected to lead to reductions in youth tobacco use."
Click here to view "Tobacco Use Among Middle & High School Students--United States, 2013," in MMWR.
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