A new study indicates that tobacco use has reached its lowest level among middle and high school students in 25 years, but there is a concerning trend in the rise.
The use of electronic cigarettes among children, as well as smoking cigarettes, cigars, and hookah, has decreased, according to the annual national survey on youth tobacco conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In fact, overall tobacco use has significantly decreased from the 2023 survey, with approximately 2.25 million students consuming some form of tobacco product in the past thirty days, compared to 2.8 million students in the previous year. However, one product has seen an increase in usage: nicotine pouches.
Unlike cigarettes, cigars, or hookah, nicotine pouches do not contain any actual tobacco leaves, although the nicotine they contain can be extracted from tobacco plants. Nevertheless, for survey purposes, the Centers for Disease Control still classify it as a tobacco product. Nicotine pouches consist of a powder containing nicotine (which in itself is highly addictive and dangerous) and flavorings. Users insert it between their gums and lips, and the nicotine is absorbed through the gums and mouth lining when the powder dissolves, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
Bags have become more like a cultural war issue in recent years, adopted by mainstream conservatives, including members of Congress like Mike Collins and Marjorie Taylor Green, as a famous anti-regulation issue. Although they have been on the market for decades, their popularity has skyrocketed over the past decade. One study found that product sales increased by over 300% between 2016 and 2020, while the tobacco company Philip Morris, which owns the famous Zyn brand, reported a 78% increase in pouch sales in the fourth quarter of 2023.
Even Tucker Carlson told comic actor / voice blogger / Theo Von nightmare that he believes bags enhanced his awareness in the badlands. If you need a scare before Halloween, just try to imagine that. Terrifying. It’s worth noting that this claim is almost certainly false. Study after study has found a link between tobacco use and erectile dysfunction, including electronic cigarettes. Even without the delivery mechanism involving tobacco, nicotine constricts blood vessels, which can contribute to sexual dysfunction.
It now appears that tobacco experimentation is less likely to lead to this habit. In this year’s survey, 42.9% of students who used any tobacco product said they did so in the past month, down from 46.7% in the previous year.
Brian King, director of the FDA’s Tobacco Products Center, said: « We are heading in the right direction when it comes to reducing tobacco use among the youth of our nation. » « But we can’t lift our foot off the gas. Continued vigilance is needed to continue reducing all forms of tobacco use among youth. Addressing disparities remains a critical part of these efforts to ensure no one is left behind. »
Each year, the Centers for Disease Control conducts a national youth tobacco survey through an online questionnaire, which middle and high school students (grades six through twelve) voluntarily fill out based on self-administration. For the 2024 survey, data was collected on May 22, with 29,861 students participating.
You should all know this now, but nicotine use is associated with a wide range of health problems (in addition to erectile dysfunction), including arterial hardening, pregnancy threats, and even affecting brain development in individuals under the age of 25. The general rule, if Tucker Carlson loves something, it is likely to lead to human misery, and this is a lesson we must teach our children.
