Caroline Cassels
Data from the 2012
National Youth Tobacco Survey show that recent e-cigarette use rose among
middle school students from 0.6% in 2011 to 1.1% in 2012; among high school
students, it rose from 1.5% to 2.8%. Hookah use among high school students rose
from 4.1% to 5.4% from 2011 to 2012.
The findings are published in the November 15 issue of Morbidity
and Mortality Weekly Report.
The authors of the
report suggest that the rise in the use of e-cigarettes and hookahs may be due
to increased marketing, availability, and visibility of these products and the
perception that they may be safer than traditional tobacco products.
The report authors
also note that e-cigarettes, hookahs, cigars, and certain other types of new
tobacco products currently are not subject to US Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) regulation.
The FDA has stated
that it will issue a proposed rule that would deem products meeting the
statutory definition of a tobacco product subject to the Federal Food, Drug,
and Cosmetic Act.
"This report raises a red flag about new
tobacco products. Cigars and hookah tobacco are smoked tobacco ― addictive and
deadly. We need effective action to protect our kids from addiction to
nicotine," Tom Frieden, MD, MPH, director, Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC), said in a statement.
The report also points
out that tobacco products characterized as cigars include little cigars, many
of which look very similar to cigarettes but are taxed at a lower rate and can
be sold individually rather than by the pack and therefore are more affordable
for teens.
Little cigars, the
authors note, can also be made with fruit and candy flavors that are banned
from cigarettes. CDC data show that more than 1 in 3 middle school and high
school studies who smoke cigars use flavored little cigars.
"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," Tim
McAfee, MD, MPH, director of the CDC's Office on Smoking and Health, said in a
statement.
MMWR. 2013;62:893-897. Full article
