‘Predatory Targeting’: CDC Finds 6M Adolescents Use Tobacco

Results from the National Youth Tobacco Survey, released Dec. 5 by the CDC, reveal that 6.2 million middle- and high-school students have used a tobacco product in the past month.

E-cigarettes were—predictably—the most commonly used tobacco products in the survey, with 27.5% of high-school students and 10.5% of middle-school students reporting they’d vaped tobacco within the past 30 days. The next most-used products, in order, were cigars, cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, hookahs and pipe tobacco.

The CDC’s report also highlighted the fact that young people are heavily targeted by the tobacco industry, with nearly 90% of respondents reporting exposure to advertisements for tobacco products. Almost 70% of those teens and pre-teens said they’d been exposed to e-cigarette marketing specifically.

“This report underscores the epidemic of youth tobacco use in our nation, which is fueled by the use of e-cigarettes, and the need for prompt action,” the American Heart Association wrote in a statement. “While Big Tobacco continues to market e-cigarettes to kids and lie about the health threats of these products, the numbers tell the real story...With nearly 9 out of 10 youth reporting they’ve seen these ads, it is clear that the tobacco industry continues with its predatory targeting of our youth.”

The AHA, which has always been outspoken about youth tobacco use and recently announced a three-pronged initiative to curb the youth e-cigarette epidemic, suggested in its statement that the FDA “crack down” on tobacco companies’ marketing strategies. The association urged the FDA to immediately remove all flavored e-cigs from the market; ban all other flavored tobacco products, including flavored cigars and menthol cigarettes; prohibit all marketing efforts geared toward kids; and suspend online sales of e-cigarettes until effective age verification is available.

“This report is further evidence that the tobacco industry is succeeding in addicting a new generation to nicotine,” the AHA wrote. “Absent immediate and urgent action, the epidemic of youth tobacco use will spiral into an even greater public health crisis.”