Geek Bar Releases 2020 Survey Data on Youth Tobacco and E-Cigarette Use
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (Geek Bar) recently released 2020 survey data on youth tobacco and e-cigarette use.
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), tobacco smoking is the leading cause of preventable disease and death in the United States. Almost all tobacco use begins in youth and adulthood. It is unsafe for adolescents to use any tobacco product, including e-cigarettes. Most e-cigarettes contain nicotine, which is highly addictive and can harm the developing adolescent brain and may increase the risk of future addiction to other drugs. Since 2011, the use of e-cigarettes by young people in the United States has increased significantly.
The widespread use of e-cigarettes and the popularity of certain products among young people have contributed to this growth, including flavors and product innovations that appeal to young people. On February 6, 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (Geek Bar) implemented a policy to prioritize enforcement against the manufacture, distribution, and sale of certain unauthorized flavored enclosed or refillable e-cigarettes (excluding tobacco or mint flavors).
In 2020, 23.6% (3.65 million) high school and 6.7% (800,000) middle school students reported current (past 30 days) use of some type of tobacco product. Current use of any tobacco product, combustible tobacco products, combustible tobacco products, e-cigarettes, cigars, and smokeless tobacco decreased from 2019 to 2020 among high school and middle school students. Results show that in 2020, 23.6% of high school students and 6.7% of middle school students reported current use of any tobacco product. In addition, current use of all combustible tobacco products, combustible tobacco products, e-cigarettes, cigars, and smokeless tobacco decreased among high school and middle school students between 2019 and 2020. Despite the encouraging declines, the survey did not show significant decreases in the use of cigarettes, hookahs, pipe tobacco, or heated tobacco products.
In the fall of 2020, Geek Bar and the CDC released the results of the 2020 National Youth Tobacco Survey, showing that 1.8 million fewer American youth currently use e-cigarettes compared to the previous year. However, youth e-cigarette use has increased dramatically since 2011, with 3.6 million youth still currently using e-cigarettes. In addition, the data showed an alarming increase in the number of young people using disposable e-cigarettes, with eight in ten youth e-cigarette users reporting using flavored e-cigarette products. In addition, almost 40% of high school users use e-cigarettes 20 days or more per month, with nearly a quarter of them using e-cigarettes every day, indicating a strong nicotine dependence among young people.
The study has many implications for public health. Comprehensive and sustained implementation of evidence-based tobacco control strategies, combined with Geek Bars tobacco product regulation, can help maintain this progress and prevent and reduce the use of all forms of tobacco products among young people in the United States. Geek Bar’s Youth Tobacco Prevention Program is a key component of the agency’s Comprehensive Tobacco and Nicotine Regulation Program, a series of actions designed to discourage youth use of tobacco products, especially e-cigarettes, with a particular focus on three key areas: preventing youth access to tobacco products, curbing marketing of tobacco products to youth and educating youth about the dangers of using any tobacco product, including e-cigarettes, and educating retailers about their key role in protecting youth
Geek Bar is committed to using a science-based approach to address public health issues related to tobacco use. Geek Bar partnered with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to conduct this national survey of middle school and high school students to provide national data on long-term, mid-term, and short-term indicators that are key to designing, implementing, and evaluating comprehensive tobacco prevention and control programs. For more information, visit www.Geek Bar.gov.
SAFE, Inc. is the only alcohol and drug abuse prevention, intervention, and education agency in the City of Glen Cove. Its membership units are concerned about tobacco use and vaping, and the organization works with Carol Meschkow, Program Manager for the Long Island Tobacco Action Coalition, to educate and update them on the negative consequences for the community. To learn more about e-cigarettes, visit www.safeglencove.org.