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United States Value:
Percentage of high school students who reported using an electronic vapor product in the past 30 days
Additional Measures:
Appears In:
Percentage of high school students who reported using an electronic vapor product in the past 30 days
Percentage of high school students who reported using an electronic vapor product in the past 30 days
Percentage of high school students who reported using an electronic vapor product in the past 30 days
CDC, Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System
Percentage of high school students who reported using an electronic vapor product in the past 30 days
CDC, Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System
US Value: 32.7%
Top State(s): Utah: 9.7%
Bottom State(s): West Virginia: 35.7%
Definition: Percentage of high school students who reported using an electronic vapor product in the past 30 days
Data Source and Years: CDC, Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2019
Suggested Citation: America's Health Rankings analysis of CDC, Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, United Health Foundation, AmericasHealthRankings.org, accessed 2023.
In recent years, there has been an increase in the popularity of electronic vapor products (also known as e-cigarettes, vapes or vape pens) among youth. Electronic vapor products are electronic devices that use heat to make an aerosol that is inhaled by the user. They are typically used to deliver the addictive compounds nicotine or tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active component of cannabis. The aerosol made by e-cigarettes contains toxic substances, such as nicotine, that can cause cancer and lung disease. Nicotine has also been found to negatively affect brain development in children and adolescents. A 2017 study showed e-cigarette use in adolescence as a strong predictor of subsequent cigarette use.
E-cigarettes pose other risks to children, teens and young adults. Both children and adults have been poisoned by coming into contact with e-cigarette liquid. Further, defective e-cigarette batteries have caused fires and explosions.
The prevalence of electronic vapor product use is higher among:
The role of parents is important in preventing and reducing e-cigarette use in youth. Strategies include:
Various resources are available to help parents, teachers and health care providers prevent e-cigarette use in youth.
On the policy level, effective actions for addressing e-cigarette use in youth include:
Healthy People 2030 has a goal to reduce current e-cigarette use in adolescents.
England, Lucinda J., Rebecca E. Bunnell, Terry F. Pechacek, Van T. Tong, and Tim A. McAfee. “Nicotine and the Developing Human.” American Journal of Preventive Medicine 49, no. 2 (August 16, 2015): 286–93. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2015.01.015.
Gentzke, Andrea S., Teresa W. Wang, Monica Cornelius, Eunice Park-Lee, Chunfeng Ren, Michael D. Sawdey, Karen A. Cullen, Caitlin Loretan, Ahmed Jamal, and David M. Homa. “Tobacco Product Use and Associated Factors Among Middle and High School Students — National Youth Tobacco Survey, United States, 2021.” MMWR. Surveillance Summaries 71, no. 5 (March 11, 2022): 1–29. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.ss7105a1.
McKenna, Lawrence A., Jr. “Electronic Cigarette Fires and Explosions in the United States 2009 - 2016.” USFA Topical Fire Report Series. United States Fire Administration, FEMA, July 2017. https://www.usfa.fema.gov/downloads/pdf/publications/electronic_cigarettes.pdf.
Soneji, Samir, Jessica L. Barrington-Trimis, Thomas A. Wills, Adam M. Leventhal, Jennifer B. Unger, Laura A. Gibson, JaeWon Yang, et al. “Association Between Initial Use of E-Cigarettes and Subsequent Cigarette Smoking Among Adolescents and Young Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.” JAMA Pediatrics 171, no. 8 (August 1, 2017): 788–97. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2017.1488.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “E-Cigarette Use Among Youth and Young Adults: A Report of the Surgeon General.” Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health, 2016. https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/sgr/e-cigarettes/pdfs/2016_sgr_entire_report_508.pdf.
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