e-Cigarette Use Among Youth in the United States, 2019

The prevalence of e-cigarette use among US youth increased from 2011 to 2018. Continued monitoring of the prevalence of e-cigarette and other tobacco product use among youth is important to inform public health policy, planning, and regulatory efforts.

To estimate the prevalence of e-cigarette use among US high school and middle school students in 2019 including frequency of use, brands used, and use of flavored products.

Cross-sectional analyses of a school-based nationally representative sample of 19 018 US students in grades 6 to 12 participating in the 2019 National Youth Tobacco Survey. The survey was conducted from February 15, 2019, to May 24, 2019.

Self-reported current (past 30-day) e-cigarette use estimates among high school and middle school students; frequent use (≥20 days in the past 30 days) and usual e-cigarette brand among current e-cigarette users; and use of flavored e-cigarettes and flavor types among current exclusive e-cigarette users (no use of other tobacco products) by school level and usual brand. Prevalence estimates were weighted to account for the complex sampling design.

The survey included 10 097 high school students (mean [SD] age, 16.1 [3.0] years; 47.5% female) and 8837 middle school students (mean [SD] age, 12.7 [2.8] years; 48.7% female). The response rate was 66.3%. An estimated 27.5% (95% CI, 25.3%-29.7%) of high school students and 10.5% (95% CI, 9.4%-11.8%) of middle school students reported current e-cigarette use. Among current e-cigarette users, an estimated 34.2% (95% CI, 31.2%-37.3%) of high school students and 18.0% (95% CI, 15.2%-21.2%) of middle school students reported frequent use, and an estimated 63.6% (95% CI, 59.3%-67.8%) of high school students and 65.4% (95% CI, 60.6%-69.9%) of middle school students reported exclusive use of e-cigarettes. Among current e-cigarette users, an estimated 59.1% (95% CI, 54.8%-63.2%) of high school students and 54.1% (95% CI, 49.1%-59.0%) of middle school students reported JUUL as their usual e-cigarette brand in the past 30 days; among current e-cigarette users, 13.8% (95% CI, 12.0%-15.9%) of high school students and 16.8% (95% CI, 13.6%-20.7%) of middle school students reported not having a usual e-cigarette brand. Among current exclusive e-cigarette users, an estimated 72.2% (95% CI, 69.1%-75.1%) of high school students and 59.2% (95% CI, 54.8%-63.4%) of middle school students used flavored e-cigarettes, with fruit, menthol or mint, and candy, desserts, or other sweets being the most commonly reported flavors.

In 2019, the prevalence of self-reported e-cigarette use was high among high school and middle school students, with many current e-cigarette users reporting frequent use and most of the exclusive e-cigarette users reporting use of flavored e-cigarettes.