Newly Released NYTS 2023 Figures 

Statement from Parents Against Vaping e-cigarettes Regarding Today’s Announcement

November 2, 2023

We are gratified that the NYTS 2023 figures indicate a decline in youth e-cigarette use —but remember, we still have 2.1 MILLION middle- and high-school kids vaping, with 90% of them using flavored products that remain easily accessible to them. At our virtual Clear the Vapor Conference last Tuesday, FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products Director Dr. Brian King warned not to become “desensitized” to the figures—and we agree with him! Remember, we’re talking about CHILDREN—millions of them—who are vaping enormous amounts of wildly addictive nicotine that reprogram their developing brains for further addiction and inhaling at high heat a myriad of toxins that chemicals can damage their still-developing lungs. While the use among high-schoolers declined, use among middle-schoolers increased—evidence parents must educate themselves about these products and begin discussing this issue with their kids while they’re still in elementary school.

The fight to protect our kids from the ongoing predatory behavior of vaping companies and the tobacco industry is far from over. It’s time to double down on what seems to be working--education, awareness campaigns, and state and local policies prohibiting sales of harmful flavored e-cigarettes. But there is an urgent and timely need for stricter enforcement of existing laws, especially at our ports where FDA has authority as a sister agency with Customs and Border Protection but until recently wasn’t effectively using it.

In fact, we continue to be alarmed by the huge influx of millions of completely unregulated disposable Chinese vapes that are pouring into our country every day—including what FDA has acknowledged is the teen favorite, Elf Bar, recently renamed to avoid detection.

It’s also really important to remember that according to CDC figures released last July, 10% percent of all young adults ages 18- to 24-years-old are also regularly vaping, suggesting great levels of addiction to the same flavored nicotine products being used by younger kids. We must continue focusing on education and state and local policies to prohibit sales of harmful flavored e-cigarettes but also advocate for more cessation resources and for more research funding since there is still no FDA-approved treatment for youth e-cigarette addiction.