E-cigarette use triples among students in just one year

Current e-cigarette use among middle and high school students tripled from 2013 to 2014, according to the Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) Findings from the 2014 National Youth Tobacco Survey show that current e-cigarette use among high school students increased from approximately 660,000 to 2 million students. Among middle school students, current e-cigarette use more than tripled fan increase from approximately 120,000 to 450,000 students.

This is the first time since the survey started collecting data on e-cigarettes in 2011 that current e-cigarette use has surpassed current use of every other tobacco product overall, including conventional cigarettes. E-cigarettes were the most used tobacco product for non-Hispanic whites, Hispanics, and non-Hispanic other race while cigars were the most commonly used product among non-Hispanic blacks.

“We want parents to know that nicotine is dangerous for kids at any age, whether it’s an e-cigarette, hookah, cigarette or cigar,” said CDC Director Tom Frieden, M.D., M.P.H. “Adolescence is a critical time for brain development. Nicotine exposure at a young age may cause lasting harm to brain development, promote addiction, and lead to sustained tobacco use.”

Hookah smoking roughly doubled for middle and high school students, while cigarette use declined among high school students and remained unchanged for middle school students. Among high school students, current hookah use rose from(about 770,000 students) to about 1.3 million students. Among middle school students, current hookah use rose from 120,000 students) to 280,000 students

The increases in e-cigarette and hookah use offset declines in use of more traditional products such as cigarettes and cigars. There was no decline in overall tobacco use between 2011 and 2014.

Cigarettes, cigarette tobacco, roll-your-own tobacco and smokeless tobacco are currently subject to FDA’s tobacco control authority. The agency currently is finalizing the rule to bring additional tobacco products such as e-cigarettes, hookahs and some or all cigars under that same authority. Several states have passed laws establishing a minimum age for purchase of e-cigarettes or extending smoke-free laws to include e-cigarettes, both of which could help further prevent youth use and initiation.

“In today’s rapidly evolving tobacco marketplace, the surge in youth use of novel products like e-cigarettes forces us to confront the reality that the progress we have made in reducing youth cigarette smoking rates is being threatened,” said Mitch Zeller, J.D., director of FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products. “These staggering increases in such a short time underscore why FDA intends to regulate these additional products to protect public health.”

Today’s report concludes that further reducing youth tobacco use and initiation is achievable through regulation of the manufacturing, distribution, and marketing of tobacco products coupled with proven strategies. These strategies included funding tobacco control programs at CDC-recommended levels, increasing prices of tobacco products, implementing and enforcing comprehensive smoke-free laws, and sustaining hard-hitting media campaigns. The report also concludes that because the use of e-cigarettes and hookahs is on the rise among high and middle school students, it is critical that comprehensive tobacco control and prevention strategies for youth focus on all tobacco products, and not just cigarettes.

The 2012 Surgeon General’s Report found that about 90 percent of all smokers first tried cigarettes as teens; and that about three of every four teen smokers continue into adulthood. To learn more about quitting and preventing children from using tobacco, visit www.BeTobaccoFree.gov.

For broadcast-quality video and audio clips featuring FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products Director Mitch Zeller speaking about the findings from the 2014 National Youth Tobacco Survey, visit http://dmr.homefrontdc.com/697/ctp-nyts-findings.

Youth tobacco smoking rates putting millions at risk of premature death

More than 1 in 5 High School Students currently uses tobacco

Almost 23 percent of high school students currently use a tobacco product, according to new data published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in today’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). Of particular concern, more than 90 percent of those using a tobacco product are using combustible tobacco products such as cigarettes, cigars, hookahs, and pipes.

Extensive use of combustible products is of special concern because tobacco smoking causes most of the tobacco-related disease and death in the United States. The 50th Anniversary Surgeon General’s Report released last January concluded that unless youth smoking rates drop rapidly, 5.6 million youth currently aged 0 to 17 will die early from a cigarette smoking-related illness.

“Nine out of ten smokers tried their first cigarette by age 18,” said Tim McAfee, M.D., M.P.H., Director of the CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health. “We must do more to prevent our youth from using tobacco products, or we will see millions of them suffer and die prematurely as adults. Fully implementing proven tobacco control programs would help keep our youth from falling victim to tobacco.”

CDC’s National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS) found that in 2013, 22.9 percent of high school students and 6.5 percent of middle school students reported using a tobacco product within the last 30 days.  Nearly half (46 percent) of all high school students and 17.7 percent of middle school students said they had used a tobacco product at least once in their lifetime. The survey also found that 12.6 percent of high school students say they currently use two or more tobacco products.

Youth who say they use more than one tobacco product are at higher risk for developing nicotine dependence that can lead to continued smoking into adulthood. Most youth who use tobacco believe they will be able to quit, but about three out of four high school smokers continue smoking into adulthood.

Among all high school students, 4.5 percent reported using e-cigarettes within the last 30 days; and 1.1 percent of middle school students reported using e-cigarettes in the last 30 days. While the impact of electronic cigarette use on public health remains uncertain, the 2014 Surgeon General’s report found that nicotine use can have adverse effects on adolescent brain development. Therefore, nicotine use by youth in any form- combusted, smokeless, or electronic- is unsafe.

Cigarettes were the most prevalent tobacco product used by white and Hispanic high school students (14.0 percent and 13.4 percent), although cigars were close behind (11.4 percent and 12.1 percent). Cigar use was more prevalent than cigarette use for other races/ethnicities.  Cigar use among black high school students was nearly 50 percent higher than cigarette use (14.7 percent vs. 9.0 percent), and more than twice as high (4.5 percent vs 1.7 percent) among black middle school students.

Cigars are currently unregulated by FDA and are taxed at a lower rate. Some cigars are manufactured with fruit and candy flavors prohibited in cigarettes, and sold in small quantities with youth able to buy them at low cost.

“One effective strategy for reducing tobacco use among youth is raising the price,” said Brian King Ph.D., a Senior Scientific Advisor with CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health. “The Food and Drug Administration’s new youth-focused media campaign, “The Real Cost,” is also expected to lead to reductions in youth tobacco use.”

Cigarette smoking is the leading preventable cause of disease and death in the United States, killing more than 480,000 Americans each year.  For every death, there are about 32 Americans living with a smoking-related disease. Besides the human cost, smoking takes a devastating toll on our nation’s economy, costing more than $289 billion a year (including at least $133 billion in direct medical care for adults and more than $156 billion in lost productivity).

Today’s article is released to coincide with the 39th anniversary of the Great American Smokeout, which will be held on November 20, 2014. Surveys show about 70 percent of all smokers want to quit, and research shows quitting completely at any age has health benefits. Smokers can get free help quitting by calling 1-800-QUIT-NOW. CDC's Tips From Former Smokers campaign features real people living with the consequences of smoking-related diseases and offers additional quit resources at http://www.cdc.gov/tips, including cessation assistance developed by the National Cancer Institute.

Risky Behavior Among U.S. High School Students

Cigarette smoking among U.S. high school students at lowest level in 22 years

Latest CDC teen behavior survey also finds fewer fights, too much texting and driving

Current cigarette smoking among U.S. high school students lowest in 22 years.

Cigarette smoking rates among high school students have dropped to the lowest levels since the National Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) began in 1991, according to the 2013 results released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

By achieving a teen smoking rate of 15.7 percent, the United States has met its national Healthy People 2020 objective of reducing adolescent cigarette use to 16 percent or less.

Despite this progress, reducing overall tobacco use remains a significant challenge. For example, other national surveys show increases in hookah and e-cigarette use. In the YRBS, no change in smokeless tobacco use was observed among adolescents since 1999, and the decline in cigar use has slowed in recent years, with cigar use now at 23 percent among male high school seniors.

“It’s encouraging that high school students are making better health choices such as not fighting, not smoking, and not having sex,” said CDC Director Tom Frieden, M.D., M.P.H.  “Way too many young people still smoke and other areas such as texting while driving remain a challenge.  Our youth are our future.  We need to invest in programs that help them make healthy choices so they live long, healthy lives.”

The YRBS provides data related to behaviors that contribute to unintentional injuries and violence. The 2013 survey found encouraging reductions in physical fighting among adolescents:  

• The percentage of high school students nationwide who had been in a physical fight at least once during the past 12 months decreased from 42 percent in 1991 to 25 percent in 2013.

• Fights on school property have been cut in half during the past 20 years.  Sixteen percent of high school students were in at least one physical fight on school property during the 12 months before the survey in 1993, compared to 8 percent in 2013.

For the first time, the surveys conducted by states and large urban school districts gathered information on texting and e-mailing by adolescents while driving. The survey’s findings indicate that the use of technology while driving continues to put youth at risk:

• Among high school students who had driven a car or other vehicle during the past 30 days, the percentage of high school students who texted or e-mailed while driving ranged from 32 percent to 61 percent across 37 states and from 19 percent to 43 percent across 15 large urban school districts.
• Nationwide, 41 percent of students who had driven a car or other vehicle during the past 30 days reported texting or emailing while driving.

The new YRBS report shows mixed results regarding youth sexual risk behaviors.

• The percentage of high school students who are currently sexually active (had sexual intercourse during the past three months) has declined from 38 percent in 1991 to 34 percent in 2013.
• Among the high school students who are currently sexually active, condom use also has declined from 63 percent in 2003 to 59 percent in 2013. This decline follows a period of increased condom use throughout the 1990s and early 2000s.

The report also indicates varied trends in obesity-related behaviors in recent years, such as excessive screen time and drinking sugar-sweetened beverages like soda.

• From 2003−2013, the percent of high school students using a computer three or more hours per day (for non-school related work) nearly doubled from 22 percent to 41 percent.
• The percentage of high school students who watch three or more hours of TV on an average school day decreased since 1999 (from 43 percent to 32 percent).
• There was a significant decrease in drinking soda (or pop) one or more times per day from 34 percent in 2007 to 27 percent in 2013.

“The Youth Risk Behavior Survey is an important tool for understanding how health risk behaviors among youth vary across the nation and over time,” said Laura Kann, Ph.D., chief of CDC’s School-Based Surveillance Branch. “We can use these data to help schools, communities, families, and students reduce youth risk behaviors that are still prevalent and to monitor those that are newly emerging.”

12/11/2013 Health News:Princeton Vaccinating 6000 Students, Peanuts Keep Cancer Away, Yoga makes Changes in Brain

Princeton starts mass meningitis B vaccinations

Princeton University has begun vaccinating nearly 6,000 students to try to stop an outbreak of type B meningitis in an unusual federal government-endorsed administration of a drug not generally approved for use in the United States. Continue Reading

Some Peanuts a Day Keep Cancer, CVD Away

Eating more nuts correlated with significantly lower mortality, both overall and for cancer, heart disease, and lung disease, according to data from follow-up in two large cohort studies. As the frequency of nut consumption increased, the mortality hazard decreased by 7% with weekly intake to 20% for daily nut consumption, as compared with people who did not eat nuts. continue reading

Harvard Yoga Scientists Find Proof of Meditation Benefit

Scientists are getting close to proving what yogis have held to be true for centuries -- yoga and meditation can ward off stress and disease.  John Denninger, a psychiatrist at Harvard Medical School, is leading a five-year study on how the ancient practices affect genes and brain activity in the chronically stressed. His latest work follows a study he and others published earlier this year showing how so-called mind-body techniques can switch on and off some genes linked to stress and immune function While hundreds of studies have been conducted on the mental health benefits of yoga and meditation, they have tended to rely on blunt tools like participant questionnaires, as well as heart rate and blood pressure monitoring. Only recently have neuro-imaging and genomics technology used in Denninger’s latest studies allowed scientists to measure physiological changes in greater detail.continue reading

Emerging Tobacco Products Gaining Popularity Among Youth

Increases in e-cigarette and hookah use show need for increased monitoring and prevention

Emerging tobacco products such as e-cigarettes and hookahs (water pipe) are quickly gaining popularity among middle- and high-school students, according to a report in this week’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

While use of these newer products increased, there was no significant decline in students’ cigarette smoking or overall tobacco use. Data from the 2012 National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS) show that recent electronic cigarette use rose among middle school students from 0.6 percent in 2011 to 1.1 percent in 2012 and among high school students from 1.5 percent to 2.8 percent. Hookah use among high school students rose from 4.1 percent to 5.4 percent from 2011 to 2012.

The report notes that the increase in the use of electronic cigarettes and hookahs could be due to an increase in marketing, availability, and visibility of these tobacco products and the perception that they may be safer alternatives to cigarettes. Electronic cigarettes, hookahs, cigars and certain other new types of tobacco products are not currently subject to FDA regulation.  FDA has stated it intends to issue a proposed rule that would deem products meeting the statutory definition of a "tobacco product" to be subject to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.

Another area of concern in the report is the increase in cigar use among certain groups of middle and high school students.  During 2011-2012, cigar use increased dramatically among non-Hispanic black high school students from 11.7 percent to 16.7 percent, and has more than doubled since 2009. Further, cigar use among high school males in 2012 was 16.7 percent, similar to cigarette use among high school males (16.3 percent).

“This report raises a red flag about newer tobacco products,” said CDC Director Tom Frieden, M.D., M.P.H. “Cigars and hookah tobacco are smoked tobacco – addictive and deadly. We need effective action to protect our kids from addiction to nicotine.”

It is important to note that the cigars category includes little cigars, many of which look almost exactly like cigarettes but are more affordable to teens because they are taxed at lower rates and can be sold individually, rather than by the pack.  Little cigars also can be made with fruit and candy flavors that are banned from cigarettes. A CDC study published last month showed more than one in three (35.9 percent) middle and high school students who smoke cigars use flavored little cigars.

“A large portion of kids who use tobacco are smoking products other than cigarettes, including cigars and hookahs, which are similarly dangerous,” said Tim McAfee, M.D., M.P.H., director of the CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health. “As we close in on the 50th anniversary of the first Surgeon General’s report on the dangers of smoking, we need to apply the same strategies that work to prevent and reduce cigarette use among our youth to these new and emerging products.”

Smoking remains the leading cause of preventable death and disease in the United States, killing more than 1,200 Americans every day. More than 8 million Americans live with a smoking-related disease.  Each day, more than 2,000 youth and young adults become daily smokers.  Smoking-related diseases cost Americans $96 billion a year in direct health care expenses, much of which come in taxpayer-supported payments.