US Report: Vaping Appears to Be Reducing Smoking Rates

According to an August 25 report citing data from a survey covered by foreign media, contrary to the widely repeated claim that “vaping may cause a new generation to start smoking again,” cigarette consumption among teenagers, young adults, and the general population has in fact continued to decline. In addition, echoing conclusions from other studies, the 2018 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) suggested that vaping may actually be contributing to the downward trend in smoking.

A SAMHSA report stated that “fewer than 1 in 5 people aged 12 or older in 2018 were smokers in the past month.” It added: “Across all age groups, cigarette use generally declined between 2002 and 2018. Some of this decline may reflect the use of electronic vaporizing devices (‘vaping’), such as e-cigarettes, as an alternative source of nicotine.”

The NYTS report showed a similar pattern

These declines in smoking rates are consistent with the hypothesis that increased vaping has contributed to a long-term decrease in smoking among teens and young adults. Data cited from the National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS) showed that youth e-cigarette use increased last year, leading the FDA to describe e-cigarette use as an “epidemic.”

However, the NYTS also showed that youth smoking rates remained unchanged in last year’s survey, while smoking rates among 10th and 12th graders continued to decline in the Monitoring the Future study, and the NSDUH results showed a similar trend. The report confirms that, contrary to fear-based allegations, scientific reports have consistently pointed to the potential for harm reduction and smoking cessation.