According to the government’s report on Thursday, there has been a decrease in the number of high school students who are vaping this year.

According to a poll, 10% of students in high school reported using electronic cigarettes within the past month, which is a decrease from 14% in the previous year.

The report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates a decrease in the use of all tobacco products, such as cigarettes and cigars, among high school students.

According to Kenneth Michael Cummings, a researcher from the University of South Carolina who was not part of the CDC study, there is a significant amount of positive news.

Approximately 5% of middle school students reported using e-cigarettes, which is consistent with the results of last year’s survey.

Over 22,000 students participated in this year’s survey by completing an online questionnaire in the previous spring. The agency regards this yearly survey as the most accurate way to track smoking habits among youth.

What is causing the decline in high school students? Health experts suggest that various factors may be contributing, such as implementing higher prices and restricting sales to minors by raising the legal age to 21.

Brian King, the director of the Food and Drug Administration’s tobacco center, expressed optimism at the significant decline in e-cigarette usage among high school students in the past year. This is a positive development for the overall health of the public.

The FDA has approved a select few tobacco-flavored e-cigarettes with the aim of aiding adult smokers in reducing their usage, but has faced difficulties in preventing the sale of unauthorized products.

Additional important discoveries outlined in the document:

• Approximately 25% of students who currently utilize e-cigarettes reported using them on a daily basis.

• Approximately 10% of middle and high school students reported using a tobacco product recently, which equates to 2.8 million children in the United States.

• The majority of teens used E-cigarettes as their preferred form of tobacco, with disposable options being the most favored.

• About 90% of the students who use e-cigarettes prefer flavored options, with fruit and candy being the most popular flavors.

In 2020, the FDA prohibited the use of popular flavors among teenagers in reusable e-cigarettes such as Juul and Vuse. These products are now only available in menthol and tobacco flavors. However, the ban on flavors did not extend to disposable e-cigarettes, leading companies like Elf Bar and Esco Bar to take advantage of the gap in the market.

The increased range of flavors, such as gummy bear and watermelon, has largely been influenced by inexpensive, one-time use devices imported from China. However, these products are considered unlawful by the FDA. Currently, they make up more than half of vaping sales in the United States, according to government data.

According to the most recent study, approximately 56% of adolescents who engage in vaping reported using Elf Bar as their top choice, followed by Esco Bar and Vuse, a reusable e-cigarette produced by R.J. Reynolds. Juul, the brand often criticized for causing the recent increase in teen vaping, came in fourth place as the preferred brand, with 16% of teens using it.

In May, the FDA attempted to prevent the entry of Elf Bar and Esco Bar into the country, but these items are still readily accessible. Elf Bar has managed to outsmart customs authorities by altering its label and implementing other measures to evade discovery.

The FDA has recently issued fines to 20 stores for selling Elf Bar items on Thursday. Over the past year, the agency has also issued over 500 warning letters to unauthorized e-cigarette retailers and manufacturers. However, these warnings are not legally binding and are sometimes disregarded.

The most recent report from the CDC brought attention to a concerning yet perplexing discovery. It was observed that there was a small rise in middle schoolers reporting the use of at least one tobacco product in the last month, while the rate among high school students decreased. Kurt Ribisl, a researcher from the University of North Carolina, stated that this is usually seen as a correlated trend. Both Ribisl and Cummings advised against drawing major conclusions from this finding, as it could potentially be a temporary fluctuation.