Youth Vaping Plummets as Cigarette Smoking Nears Historic Lows in New Hampshire

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Key Points:

• Survey Overview: Newly released 2025 New Hampshire Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) results show youth cigarette smoking remains near historic lows, while youth e-cigarette use has fallen dramatically since peaking in 2019. 

• Youth Smoking Near Historic Lows: In 2025, only 3.9 percent of New Hampshire high school students currently smoked cigarettes, while 14.8 percent reported ever trying a combustible cigarette.

• Two Decades of Progress: Between 2005 and 2025, ever-use of cigarettes among New Hampshire high school students declined by 68 percent, from 46.2 percent to 14.8 percent, while current smoking fell 81 percent, from 20.5 percent to 3.9 percent.

• Youth Vaping Plummets: Current e-cigarette use declined 53.8 percent between 2019 and 2025, falling from 33.8 percent of high school students to 15.6 percent.

• E-Cigarette Experimentation Declines: In 2025, 29 percent of students reported ever trying an e-cigarette, a 41.8 percent decline from 49.8 percent in 2019. 

• Frequent Vaping Falls: Frequent e-cigarette use – defined as vaping on at least 20 of the previous 30 days – declined 49.6 percent, from 13.5 percent of students in 2019 to 6.8 percent in 2025. 

• Daily Vaping Also Down: Daily e-cigarette use among New Hampshire high school students fell 44.2 percent, declining from 9.5 percent in 2019 to 5.3 percent in 2025. 

• Adult Smoking at Historic Lows: According to the 2024 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, only 9.1 percent of New Hampshire adults currently smoked cigarettes, while 5.7 percent currently used e-cigarettes. 

• Long-Term Adult Trends: Between 2016 and 2024, adult cigarette smoking in New Hampshire declined by 49.4 percent, while adult vaping increased by 11.8 percent.

• Smoke-Free Alternatives: The growth of e-cigarettes and other noncombustible nicotine products has coincided with substantial declines in adult smoking, although population-level trends alone cannot establish that these products caused the reductions.

• FDA-Authorized Alternatives: As of September 1, 2026, the FDA has authorized more than 100 tobacco harm reduction products, including e-cigarettes, heated tobacco products, and oral nicotine pouches, through the PMTA pathway.

• Public Health Standard: To receive PMTA authorization, manufacturers must demonstrate that marketing a product is “appropriate for the protection of the public health,” taking into account both potential benefits to existing tobacco users and risks of initiation among nonusers, particularly youth. 

• Relative Risk Matters: FDA authorization decisions have recognized that certain noncombustible products contain substantially lower levels of harmful constituents or pose lower risks than combustible cigarettes. 

• Smoking Cessation Evidence: An updated August 2026 Cochrane Review found “high-certainty evidence” that nicotine e-cigarettes are more effective at helping adults quit smoking than traditional nicotine replacement therapies such as patches and gum. 

• Policy Implications: New Hampshire's latest data show that youth smoking, youth vaping, and adult cigarette smoking have all declined substantially, providing important context as lawmakers consider future tobacco and nicotine regulations.

• Bottom Line: New Hampshire has made significant progress in reducing both youth and adult cigarette smoking, while youth vaping has fallen sharply from its 2019 peak. Policymakers should continue preventing youth initiation while recognizing differences in relative risk and preserving access to lower-risk alternatives for adults who smoke.

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The 2025 results of the New Hampshire Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) were recently published. The biennial survey, conducted in coordination between the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, measures key health-risk behaviors among students in grades 9 through 12.

The latest results provide welcome news for policymakers and tobacco control advocates: youth cigarette smoking remains at historic lows, while youth vaping has declined dramatically since peaking in 2019.

According to the YRBS, in 2025, only 14.8 percent of New Hampshire high school students had ever tried a combustible cigarette, while 3.9 percent were current smokers, defined as having used the product on at least one occasion in the 30 days prior to the survey. These are among the lowest rates recorded and represent significant long-term reductions in youth smoking.

For comparison, 20 years ago, in 2005, nearly half (46.2 percent) of New Hampshire high school students had ever tried smoking, while more than one-fifth (20.5 percent) were current smokers. Between 2005 and 2025, ever-use of cigarettes declined by 68 percent, while current use fell by 81 percent.

In recent years, less harmful alternatives to combustible cigarettes have emerged, drawing increased attention from policymakers and public health officials. The latest statewide data – consistent with national trends – also indicate that the surge in youth vaping observed during the late 2010s has not persisted. Rather, youth e-cigarette use has consistently declined since peaking in 2019.

In 2025, 29 percent of New Hampshire high school students reported ever trying an e-cigarette, while 15.6 percent were current users. Ever-use of e-cigarettes decreased by 41.8 percent from 2019, when nearly half (49.8 percent) of students reported having tried an e-cigarette. Current use declined by 53.8 percent, from 33.8 percent in 2019.

Frequent and daily e-cigarette use have declined as well. Between 2019 and 2025, frequent use – defined as use on 20 or more days during the previous 30 days – declined by 49.6 percent, from 13.5 percent of New Hampshire high school students to 6.8 percent. Daily use decreased by 44.2 percent, from 9.5 percent to 5.3 percent.

Policymakers should consider these latest youth trends when evaluating policies governing tobacco and alternative nicotine products. Similar to youth smoking, combustible cigarette use among adults in the Granite State is at historic lows. These declines have occurred during a period in which adults have also gained greater access to smoke-free alternatives, particularly e-cigarettes.

According to the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), 9.1 percent of New Hampshire adults were current smokers in 2024, while 5.7 percent were current e-cigarette users. Between 2016 and 2024, the adult smoking rate declined by 49.4 percent, while the vaping rate increased by 11.8 percent.

Despite years of intense public debate surrounding e-cigarettes and other alternative nicotine products, these products have become an increasingly important component of the tobacco harm reduction landscape. Their growing availability has coincided with substantial reductions in combustible cigarette smoking, although population-level trends alone cannot establish that alternative products caused those declines.

As of September 1, 2026, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued marketing authorization orders for more than 100 tobacco harm reduction products, including e-cigarettes, heated tobacco products, and oral nicotine pouches, through the premarket tobacco product application (PMTA) pathway.

Under federal law, products seeking PMTA authorization must demonstrate to the FDA that permitting their marketing would be “appropriate for the protection of the public health.” This determination considers the risks and benefits to the population as a whole, including the likelihood that existing tobacco users will stop using tobacco products or switch products, as well as the likelihood that non-users will initiate tobacco use. Further, while reduced harm is not itself sufficient for PMTA authorization, the FDA has concluded in numerous authorization decisions that certain noncombustible products contain substantially lower levels of harmful constituents or present lower risks than combustible cigarettes.

Other public health organizations in the United States and abroad have similarly recognized that e-cigarettes generally expose users to fewer harmful chemicals than combustible cigarettes. Organizations including the Royal College of Physicians have examined their potential role in reducing the harms associated with smoking.

Most recently, an updated Cochrane review published in August reported “high-certainty evidence” that nicotine e-cigarettes are more effective than traditional nicotine replacement therapies in helping adults quit smoking.

The New Hampshire data present policymakers with two important trends: youth smoking and vaping have fallen substantially from their previous highs, while adult cigarette smoking has continued its long-term decline. Policies should continue to discourage youth initiation without unnecessarily limiting access to lower-risk alternatives for adults who smoke. Regulations that fail to distinguish between combustible cigarettes and noncombustible alternatives risk overlooking differences in relative harm and could undermine continued progress in reducing cigarette smoking in the Granite State.

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.