More Than 3 Million Youth Said They Used Tobacco This Year: CDC

A new government study finds more than 3 million U.S. middle and high school students said they used a tobacco product in 2022.

Researchers from the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found e-cigarettes were the most commonly used tobacco product among teens, followed by cigars, cigarettes and smokeless tobacco, CNN reports.

The study found that among all race and ethnicity groups, non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaska Native students had the highest percentage of any tobacco product use (13.5%), while non-Hispanic white students reported the highest percentage of e-cigarette use (11.0%). Approximately one million youth reported using any combustible tobacco product; non-Hispanic Black students reported the highest percentage of combustible tobacco product use (5.7%), including cigar use (3.3%).

Additional groups with a higher percentage of tobacco product use were those reporting grades of mostly Fs (27.2%); those reporting severe symptoms of psychological distress (18.3%); those who identified as transgender (16.6%) or as lesbian, gay, or bisexual (16.0%); and those with low family affluence (12.5%).