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September 28, 2024Fewer adolescents are vaping this year than at any point in the last decade, government officials reported recently. The latest survey numbers show the teen vaping rate fell to under 6% this year, down from 7.7% in 2023. More than 1.6 million students reported vaping in the previous month — about one-third the number in 2019, when underage vaping peaked with the use of discrete, high-nicotine e-cigarettes like Juul. Vaping was unchanged among middle schoolers, but remains less common in that group, at 3.5% of students. The drop in vaping didn't coincide with a rise in other tobacco industry products, such as small, flavored pouches like Zyn. The pouches come in flavors like mint and cinnamon and slowly release nicotine when placed along the gumline. This year's U.S. survey shows 1.8% of teens are using them, largely unchanged from last year. Officials from the FDA and the CDC attributed the big drop in vaping to recent age restrictions and more aggressive enforcement against retailers and manufacturers, including Chinese vaping companies who have sold their e-cigarettes illegally in the U.S. for years. Use of the most popular e-cigarette among teens, Elf Bar, fell 36% in the wake of FDA warning letters to stores and distributors selling the brightly colored vapes, which come in flavors like watermelon ice and peach mango. The brand is part of a wave of cheap, disposable e-cigarettes from China that have taken over a large portion of the U.S. vaping market. The FDA has tried to block such imports, although Elf Bar and other brands have tried to find workarounds by changing their names, addresses and logos. Teen use of major American e-cigarettes like Vuse and Juul remained significant, with about 12% of teens who vape reporting use of those brands. In 2020, FDA regulators banned fruit and candy flavors from reusable e-cigarettes like Juul, which are now only sold in menthol and tobacco. But the flavor restriction didn’t apply to disposable products, and companies like Elf Bar stepped in to fill the gap. Nearly 90% of the students who vape used flavored products, with fruit flavors as the overwhelming favorite. Here's the link: Teen vaping hits 10-year low in the US (msn.com)