Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable disease and death in the United States;
if current smoking rates continue, 5.6 million Americans aged <18 years who are alive
today are projected to die prematurely from smoking-related disease. Tobacco use and
addiction mostly begin during youth and young adulthood. CDC and the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) analyzed data from the 2011-2015 National Youth Tobacco Surveys
(NYTS) to determine the prevalence and trends of current (past 30-day) use of seven
tobacco product types (cigarettes, cigars, smokeless tobacco, electronic cigarettes
[e-cigarettes], hookahs [water pipes used to smoke tobacco], pipe tobacco, and bidis
[small imported cigarettes wrapped in a tendu leaf]) among U.S. middle (grades 6-8)
and high (grades 9-12) school students. In 2015, e-cigarettes were the most commonly
used tobacco product among middle (5.3%) and high (16.0%) school students. During
2011-2015, significant increases in current use of e-cigarettes and hookahs occurred
among middle and high school students, whereas current use of conventional tobacco
products, such as cigarettes and cigars decreased, resulting in no change in overall
tobacco product use. During 2014-2015, current use of e-cigarettes increased among
middle school students, whereas current use of hookahs decreased among high school
students; in contrast, no change was observed in use of hookahs among middle school
students, use of e-cigarettes among high school students, or use of cigarettes, cigars,
smokeless tobacco, pipe tobacco, or bidis among middle and high school students. In
2015, an estimated 4.7 million middle and high school students were current tobacco
product users, and, therefore, continue to be exposed to harmful tobacco product constituents,
including nicotine. Nicotine exposure during adolescence, a critical period for brain
development, can cause addiction, might harm brain development, and could lead to
sustained tobacco product use among youths. Comprehensive and sustained strategies
are warranted to prevent and reduce the use of all tobacco products among U.S. youths.