Tobacco Product Use Among Middle and High School Students — United States, 2011–2017

Abstract

© 2018, Department of Health and Human Services. All rights reserved. What is already known about this topic? Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable disease and death in the United States; nearly all tobacco use begins during youth and young adulthood. What is added by this report? During 2011–2017, prevalence of current use of any tobacco product decreased from 24.2% to 19.6% among high school students and from 7.5% to 5.6% among middle school students. Electronic cigarettes were the most commonly used tobacco product among high school (11.7%) and middle school students (3.3%) in 2017. What are the implications for public health practice? Sustained implementation of population-based strategies, in coordination with Food and Drug Administration regulation of tobacco products, are critical to reducing tobacco product use and initiation among U.S. youths.