E-Cigarette Use Among Teens Tripled In 2014

The number of American teens puffing on e-cigarettes tripled in 2014, making them the most popular tobacco product for high schoolers, data from the Centers for Disease Control show. At the same time, the rate of teens smoking conventional cigarettes declined. Here's the chart, based on data from the National Youth Tobacco Survey:

The CDC estimates that about 2 million high school students use e-cigarettes in the U.S. The devices are also the most prevalent form of tobacco used by middle schoolers. Researchers are still probing the long-term consequences of vaping, which is widely believed to be safer than inhaling tobacco smoke. A paper in the journal Tobacco Control suggests that chemicals in nicotine liquid that are considered safe to eat may be harmful when inhaled into the lungs.

CDC Director Tom Frieden rejected any suggestion that e- cigarettes are driving a decrease in conventional smoking, and he called the overall trend "deeply alarming." "These increases are driving an uptick in the total number of our children who are using tobacco products for the first time in a generation," he told reporters on a conference call.

Hookah smoking also jumped, more than doubling in 2014. The increases worry public health officials who are trying to keep up with teens' fast-changing tobacco habits. A detailed chart from CDC shows how many high school students reported using a variety of products in the last 30 days:

Source: CDC

E-cigarettes were just a tiny sliver of the teen tobacco market four years ago. Some municipalities, including New York, have explicitly included e-cigarettes in laws that ban smoking in restaurants and other public places. Most states have banned selling e-cigarettes to minors. The Food and Drug Administration is finalizing rules to make the prohibition nationwide.

E-cigarettes are widely advertised, including on television, where cigarette ads have been banned since the Nixon administration. The FDA's proposed rule wouldn't prohibit advertising or selling flavors that might appeal to children. Frieden said the ads are following the tobacco industry's playbook, "using the same tactics that the surgeon general found appeal to kids." Asked whether the FDA should consider advertising restrictions, he declined to comment.