Teen E-cigarette Use during COVID-19: A 7-question Quiz
Findings from the 2021 National Youth Tobacco Survey have public health advocates concerned. Find out why in this 7-question quiz.
The COVID-19 pandemic did not dampen e-cigarette use among youth, according to new research from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), published in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
The report was based on data from the 2021 National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS), a cross-sectional, self-administered survey of middle (grades 6-8) and high school (grades 9-12) students from January 18, 2021 to May 21, 2021. More than 20 000 students from 279 schools completed the first NYTS that was fully conducted online to allow participation of eligible students in remote learning settings. For that reason, the CDC and FDA noted that the results from the 2021 NYTS, "should not be compared with previous NYTS survey waves that were primarily conducted on school campuses."
Nevertheless, this year's survey provides important insights into youth use of e-cigarettes, which are highlighted in the 7-question quiz below.
1. Approximately 7% of high school students and 2% of middle school students reported current e-cigarette use in 2021. True or False?
Answer: B. False In 2021, 11.3% (1.72 million) of high school students and 2.8% (320 000) of middle school students reported current e-cigarette use, which was defined for the purpose of the survey as using e-cigarettes within the past 30 days.
2. Approximately what percentage of current high school e-cigarette users reported using e-cigarettes on ≥20 of the past 30 days?
Answer: D. 43%. Among current e-cigarette users, 43.6% of high school students and 17.2% of middle school students reported using e-cigarettes on ≥20 of the past 30 days.
3. Which of the following device types was used most among both middle and high school current e-cigarette users?
Answer: C. Disposables. Among both middle and high school current e-cigarette users, the most commonly used device type reported was disposables (43.8% and 55.8%, respectively), followed by prefilled or refillable pods or cartridges (27.8%, 28.9%), and tanks or mod systems (15.6%, 7.5%).
4. Among current users, approximately 27% of high school students and 8% of middle school students reported daily e-cigarette use. True or False?
Answer: A. True. Among current e-cigarette users, 27.6% of high school students and 8.3% of middle school students reported daily use.
5. JUUL was cited as the go-to brand among both middle and high school e-cigarette users. True or False?
Answer: B. False. Overall, 26.8% of middle and high school e-cigarette users reported their usual brand was Puff Bar, 10.5% said Vuse, 8.6% said SMOK, 6.8% said JUUL, and 2.1% said Suorin.
6. Among current users, approximately 15% of high school students and 19% of middle school students did cigarette brand they usually used. True or False?
Answer: A. True. Among current e-cigarette users, 15.6% of high school students and 19.3% of middle school students reported not knowing the e-cigarette brand they usually used.
7. Among current youth e-cigarette users overall, approximately what percentage used flavored e-cigarettes in 2021?
Answer: E. 85%. Among current youth e-cigarette users overall, 84.7% used flavored e-cigarettes in 2021, including 85.8% of high school users and 79.2% of middle school users.
BONUS: Among all current flavored e-cigarette users, the most commonly used flavor type among both middle and high school students was which of the above?
Answer: D. Fruit. Among all current flavored e-cigarette users, the most commonly used flavor types reported among middle and high school students were fruit (71.6%), followed by candy, desserts, or other sweets (34.1%); mint (30.2%); and menthol (28.8%).
The American Heart Association (AHA) published a statement about these latest statistics. “The findings released today show that even as the COVID pandemic kept millions of kids home from school, it didn’t keep more than 2 million middle and high school students from using
e-cigarettes. This report is a clear call to action for the FDA to reject the remaining premarket tobacco applications for flavored products, regulate synthetic nicotine and at long last prohibit the sale of any flavored tobacco product."
The US Food and Drug Administration also published a statement on the findings. “These data highlight the fact that flavored e-cigarettes are still extremely popular with kids. And we are equally disturbed by the quarter of high school students who use e-cigarettes and say they vape every single day. The FDA continues to take action against those who sell or target e-cigarettes and e-liquids to kids, as seen just this year by the denial of more than one million premarket applications for flavored electronic nicotine delivery system products.”
