17
Fitzgerald Health Education Associates, Inc., April 2015 fhea.com
others who have never smoked are now using e-cig-
arettes, "raising the possibility that they might be
hooked by the nicotine."
Hookah Smoking Rises, Cigarette Use Declined
The new data also found that hookah smoking rough-
ly doubled for middle and high school students. Cur-
rent hookah use among high school students rose
from 5.2% in 2013 (770,000 students) to 9.4% in 2014
(1.3 million students); middle school students' cur-
rent hookah use rose from 1.1% in 2013 (120,000 stu-
dents) to 2.5% in 2014 (280,000 students).
The CDC noted that there was no decline in over-
all tobacco use between 2011 and 2014. Increases
in e-cigarette and hookah use offset declines in use
of traditional cigarettes and cigars. [Overall rates of
use of any tobacco product were 24.6% for high
school students and 7.7% for middle school stu-
dents in 2014.] The rise of e-cigarettes, with the in-
crease in use of hookah pipes, led to an additional
400,000 young people using a tobacco product in
2014, the first increase in years. ( The authors of the
report noted, however, that the percentage of the
rise fell within the margin of error.)
Cigarettes, cigarette tobacco, roll-your-own to-
bacco, and smokeless tobacco are regulated by the
FDA's tobacco control authority. The FDA is finaliz-
ing the rule to bring additional tobacco products
such as e-cigarettes, hookahs, and some or all cigars
under the same authority. Mitch Zeller, JD, Director
of the FDA's Center for Tobacco Products, said the
progress made in reducing youth cigarette smoking
is threatened by the rise of e-cigarettes. "These
staggering increases in such a short time under-
score why FDA intends to regulate these additional
products to protect public health," he said.
Though the decline in use of traditional cigarettes
among teenagers accelerated substantially from
2013 to 2014—a 25% drop—Thomas R. Frieden, MD,
director of the CDC, remains concerned that anoth-
er generation is "being hooked by the tobacco in-
dustry." Nicotine is dangerous for kids at any age, he
said, whatever form it is delivered in. "Adolescence
is a critical time for brain development," Dr. Frieden
said, and nicotine exposure at a young age can
cause lasting harm to brain development, promote
addiction, and lead to sustained tobacco use.
•
Sources
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. E-cigarette use triples
among middle and high school students in just one year. April 16,
2015. www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2015/p0416-e-cigarette-use.html.
Jensen RP, Luo W, Pankow JF, et al. Hidden formaldehyde in e-ciga-
rette aerosols [Letter]. N Engl J Med . 2015;372:392-394.
The
New York Times Editorial Board. The perils of smokeless to-
bacco. April 23, 2015. www.nytimes.com/2015/04/23/opinion/the-
perils-of-smokeless-tobacco.html?ref=opinion
Tavernise S. Use of e-cigarettes rises sharply among teenagers, re-
port says.
New York Times . April 16, 2015.http://www.nytimes.com/
2015/04/17/health/use-of-e-cigarettes-rises-sharply-among-teenagers-
report-says.html?_r=0
Update: Tobacco Use Among Teens
Tobacco Products Most Commonly Used
by High School Students, 2014
•
e-Cigarettes (13.4%)
• Hookah (9.4%)
• Cigarettes (9.2%)
• Cigars (8.2%)
• Smokeless tobacco (5.5%)
• Snus (a smokeless, flavored tobacco product) (1.9%)
• Pipes (1.5%)
The rise of e-cigarettes, with the increase
in use of hookah pipes, led to an
additional
400,000 young people
using a tobacco product in 2014, the first
increase in years.
C
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