Historic Youth Tobacco Declines Highlight the Need for Regulatory Reform

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Key Points:

• Survey Overview: Newly published 2025 National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS) results show youth tobacco use has fallen to historic lows, with youth e-cigarette use reaching its lowest level in more than a decade. 

• Delayed Publication: Although the FDA quietly released the raw 2025 survey data in March, the full research report was not published until June 23 in Nicotine & Tobacco Research, rather than through the CDC's traditional Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. 

• Historic Declines: In 2025, only 7.2 percent of U.S. middle and high school students reported current use of any tobacco product, including 5.2 percent who used e-cigarettes, 1.7 percent who used nicotine pouches, 1.4 percent who smoked cigarettes, and 1.1 percent who smoked cigars.

• Youth Tobacco Use Plummets: Since 2019, current use of any tobacco product among U.S. youth declined by 68.7 percent, while current e-cigarette use fell by 74 percent. 

• High School Progress: Among high school students, current tobacco use fell to 9.5 percent in 2025, while current e-cigarette use declined from 27.5 percent in 2019 to just 7.1 percent – a 74.2 percent reduction. Cigarette smoking fell by 69 percent and cigar use declined by 84.2 percent over the same period. 

• Middle School Success: Only 4.1 percent of middle school students reported current tobacco use in 2025. Current e-cigarette use declined 75.2 percent since 2019, while cigarette and cigar smoking each fell by 65.3 percent. 

• Nicotine Pouch Use Remains Limited: Youth nicotine pouch use remained relatively low and stable in both middle and high school students, with slight declines following recent peaks. 

• Youth Smoking Continues to Collapse: The latest findings reinforce that youth cigarette smoking continues to reach record lows despite years of concern surrounding the introduction of e-cigarettes. 

• Adult Harm Reduction Continues: While youth use has fallen dramatically, adult adoption of smoke-free nicotine products continues to grow. According to the 2024 BRFSS, approximately 8 percent of U.S. adults currently vape compared to 5.9 percent of youth, with adult vaping increasing 72.2 percent since 2016 as adult smoking declined 38.6 percent. 

• Adult Market Growing: Bloomberg Philanthropies-funded retail data show total U.S. e-cigarette sales increased 16.9 percent between 2020 and 2025, while sales of non-tobacco flavored products rose 28.8 percent during the same period.

• Regulatory Disconnect: Despite historic declines in youth vaping, the FDA has authorized only 45 e-cigarette products – just two in non-tobacco flavors – after denying more than 99 percent of PMTA applications, largely citing concerns about youth appeal. 

• Youth Declines Despite PMTA Denials: Youth vaping fell 42 percent between 2020 and 2021, even as the FDA relied on concerns about youth use to justify widespread marketing denials for flavored products. 

• State Directory Laws Expanding: Rather than addressing shortcomings in the federal PMTA process, 16 states have adopted vapor product directory laws tying legal sales to FDA authorization standards that remain slow and restrictive. 

• Public Health Progress: The simultaneous decline in youth tobacco use and increase in adult use of lower-risk alternatives demonstrates that protecting youth and supporting tobacco harm reduction for adults can occur at the same time. 

• Policy Implications: The 2025 NYTS provides strong evidence that policymakers should modernize federal and state tobacco regulations to reflect current data, encourage innovation, support a well-regulated marketplace, and preserve adult access to reduced-risk alternatives while maintaining strong youth protections. 

• Bottom Line: Youth tobacco use has reached historic lows while millions of adults continue transitioning away from combustible cigarettes. The latest NYTS findings suggest it is time for regulatory reform that balances youth protection with evidence-based tobacco harm reduction for adults.

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Long-awaited details from the 2025 National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS) have finally been published, and the findings are significant: youth tobacco use has fallen to historic lows, while youth e-cigarette use has reached its lowest level in more than a decade.

Although the NYTS is administered by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the raw 2025 data were quietly released in March by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The full research report, published on June 23 in Nicotine & Tobacco Research, marks a notable departure from the CDC's longstanding practice of publishing NYTS findings through its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Regardless of the delay, the results are encouraging.

In 2025, just 7.2 percent of U.S. middle and high school students reported current use of any tobacco product, defined as use on at least one day during the previous 30 days. This included 5.2 percent who used e-cigarettes, 1.7 percent who used nicotine pouches, 1.4 percent who smoked cigarettes, and 1.1 percent who smoked cigars.

These declines are remarkable. Between 2019 and 2025, current use of any tobacco product among U.S. youth fell by 68.7 percent, while current e-cigarette use declined by an astonishing 74 percent.

Among high school students, 9.5 percent reported current use of any tobacco product in 2025. E-cigarettes remained the most commonly used product (7.1 percent), followed by nicotine pouches (2.3 percent), combustible cigarettes (1.8 percent), and cigars (1.2 percent). Since 2019, overall tobacco use among high school students has declined by 68.5 percent, while e-cigarette use has fallen by 74.2 percent, from 27.5 percent of students in 2019. During the same period, cigar use declined by 84.2 percent and cigarette smoking fell by 69 percent. Nicotine pouch use has remained relatively stable, declining slightly from its 2023 peak of 3.1 percent.

Among middle school students, only 4.1 percent reported current use of any tobacco product in 2025. E-cigarettes remained the most commonly used product (2.6 percent), followed by nicotine pouches (0.9 percent), cigars (0.8 percent), and cigarettes (0.8 percent). Overall, tobacco use among middle school students declined by 67.2 percent between 2019 and 2025, including a 75.2 percent reduction in e-cigarette use and a 65.3 percent decline in both cigar and cigarette smoking. Nicotine pouch use has also remained stable, with a slight decrease since 2024.

These results deserve recognition. Despite years of alarming headlines and persistent claims from some public health organizations, the rise of e-cigarettes did not create a new generation of nicotine users or lead to increased combustible tobacco use. Instead, the period that included the 2019 surge in youth vaping coincided with unprecedented declines in cigarette smoking among both youth and young adults.

At the same time, adult adoption of smoke-free nicotine products continues to grow despite significant regulatory barriers.

According to Bloomberg Philanthropies-funded Monitoring Tobacco Use data, total monthly U.S. e-cigarette sales increased by 16.9 percent, from $15.5 million in February 2020 to $18.1 million in 2025. Sales of non-tobacco flavored e-cigarettes increased even more rapidly, rising 28.8 percent from $11.1 million to $14.3 million during the same period.

CDC survey data tell a similar story. According to the 2024 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), 8 percent of U.S. adults currently use e-cigarettes, compared with 5.9 percent of youth. Adult vaping has increased by 72.2 percent since 2016, while adult cigarette smoking has declined by 38.6 percent over the same period.

Yet despite these trends, adults face increasing restrictions on products that federal regulators acknowledge expose users to fewer harmful chemicals than combustible cigarettes.

In 2020, the FDA received millions of premarket tobacco product applications (PMTAs) covering a vast range of e-cigarette products. The agency ultimately denied more than 99 percent of those applications, citing concerns about youth appeal, particularly flavored products. Ironically, NYTS data show youth vaping fell 42 percent between 2020 and 2021 – from 13.1 percent to 7.6 percent – during the very period the FDA used to justify sweeping product denials. To date, the FDA has authorized only 45 e-cigarette products for sale, just two of which are available in non-tobacco flavors.

As a result, the U.S. vapor marketplace has been left in regulatory limbo, with consumer demand continuing to outpace the federal authorization process. Rather than addressing the shortcomings of the PMTA system, many states – often encouraged by major manufacturers – have enacted product directory laws requiring state agencies to enforce FDA authorization standards the agency itself has struggled to implement. As of June 2026, 16 states have adopted directory laws that limit legal sales to products that meet these federal requirements.

The 2025 NYTS should serve as a turning point in the conversation surrounding tobacco harm reduction. Youth tobacco and e-cigarette use have reached historic lows, while adult smokers continue moving toward lower-risk alternatives. These trends suggest that protecting youth and expanding harm reduction for adults are not mutually exclusive goals. Instead of maintaining a regulatory system that limits access to products adults increasingly choose over cigarettes, policymakers should modernize federal and state frameworks to encourage innovation, support a well-regulated marketplace, and accelerate the nation's progress toward a smoke-free future.

Nothing in this analysis is intended to influence the passage of legislation, and it does not necessarily represent the views of Tobacco Harm Reduction 101.