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Teen vaping hits 10-year low in the US

TECH

Teen vaping hits 10-year low in the US
TECH

TECH

Teen vaping hits 10-year low in the US

2024-09-06 01:26 Last Updated At:01:30

WASHINGTON (AP) — Fewer adolescents are vaping this year than at any point in the last decade, government officials reported Thursday, pointing to a shrinking number of high school students who are using Elf Bar and other fruity, unauthorized e-cigarettes.

The latest survey numbers show the teen vaping rate fell to under 6% this year, down from 7.7% in 2023. More than 1.6 million students reported vaping in the previous month — about one-third the number in 2019, when underage vaping peaked with the use of discrete, high-nicotine e-cigarettes like Juul.

This year's decline was mainly driven by a half-million fewer high school students who reported using e-cigarettes in the past month, officials said. Vaping was unchanged among middle schoolers, but remains less common in that group, at 3.5% of students.

“This is a monumental public health win,” FDA's tobacco director Brian King told reporters. “But we can’t rest on our laurels. There’s clearly more work to do to further reduce youth use.”

King and other officials noted that the drop in vaping didn't coincide with a rise in other tobacco industry products, such as nicotine pouches.

Sales of small, flavored pouches like Zyn have surged among adults. The subject of viral videos on social media platforms, the pouches come in flavors like mint and cinnamon and slowly release nicotine when placed along the gumline. This year's U.S. survey shows 1.8% of teens are using them, largely unchanged from last year.

“Our guard is up,” King said. "We’re aware of the reported growing sales trends and we’re closely monitoring the evolving tobacco product landscape.”

The federal survey involved more than 29,000 students in grades 6 through 12 who filled out an online questionnaire in the spring. Health officials consider the survey to be their best measure of youth tobacco and nicotine trends. Thursday's update focused on vaping products and nicotine pouches, but the full publication will eventually include rates of cigarette and cigar smoking, which have also hit historic lows in recent years.

Officials from the FDA and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention attributed the big drop in vaping to recent age restrictions and more aggressive enforcement against retailers and manufacturers, including Chinese vaping companies who have sold their e-cigarettes illegally in the U.S. for years.

Use of the most popular e-cigarette among teens, Elf Bar, fell 36% in the wake of FDA warning letters to stores and distributors selling the brightly colored vapes, which come in flavors like watermelon ice and peach mango. The brand is part of a wave of cheap, disposable e-cigarettes from China that have taken over a large portion of the U.S. vaping market. The FDA has tried to block such imports, although Elf Bar and other brands have tried to find workarounds by changing their names, addresses and logos.

Teen use of major American e-cigarettes like Vuse and Juul remained significant, with about 12% of teens who vape reporting use of those those brands.

In 2020, FDA regulators banned fruit and candy flavors from reusable e-cigarettes like Juul, which are now only sold in menthol and tobacco. But the flavor restriction didn’t apply to disposable products, and companies like Elf Bar stepped in to fill the gap.

Other key findings in the report:

— Among students who current use e-cigarettes, about 26% said they vape daily.

— Nearly 90% of the students who vape used flavored products, with fruit flavors as the overwhelming favorite.

— Zyn is the most common nicotine pouch among teens who use the products.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

FILE - Elf Bar and Esco Bar flavored disposable vaping devices are displayed in Washington on Monday, June 26, 2023. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

FILE - Elf Bar and Esco Bar flavored disposable vaping devices are displayed in Washington on Monday, June 26, 2023. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — The screw holding the net in place at the Australian Open's main stadium got jarred loose during defending champion Jannik Sinner's fourth-round match against Holger Rune on Monday, delaying play for about 20 minutes early in the fourth set.

The No. 1-ranked Sinner, who is the defending champion at Melbourne Park, hit one of his booming serves into the net, shaking it. That managed to inadvertently undo the metal piece that hooks into the bottom of the black webbing that separates players on a tennis court, then is rotated to screw into the blue-painted surface.

That left the net loose, so play could not continue. At least a half-dozen people went over to take a look at things and attempt to re-connect the equipment. Eventually, a worker with a red tool box was able to fix it, earning a cheer from thousands of spectators at Rod Laver Arena.

In the meantime, chair umpire Nico Helwerth sent both Sinner and Rune off to the locker room so they did not need to sit on the sideline in the afternoon heat that topped 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 Celsius).

“Ladies and gentlemen, as you can see, we are trying to fix the net as quick as possible,” Helwerth announced to the crowd. “It's probably going to take a few minutes. Thank you for your patience.”

Each player already had taken a medical timeout during the match. Sinner was leading 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 0-1 when action was halted.

As Sinner and the 13th-seeded Rune, a 21-year-old from Denmark, walked back out on the court to return to the contest, fans applauded.

The players were then allowed to warm up for three minutes before Sinner got things started again with a serve.

Holger Rune of Denmark plays a backhand return to Jannik Sinner of Italy during their fourth round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

Holger Rune of Denmark plays a backhand return to Jannik Sinner of Italy during their fourth round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

Staff work on repairing the net during the fourth round match between Jannik Sinner of Italy and Holger Rune of Denmark at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)

Staff work on repairing the net during the fourth round match between Jannik Sinner of Italy and Holger Rune of Denmark at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)

Jannik Sinner of Italy talks with his coaching staff as repairs are made too the net during his fourth round match against Holger Rune of Denmark at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)

Jannik Sinner of Italy talks with his coaching staff as repairs are made too the net during his fourth round match against Holger Rune of Denmark at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)

Staff work on repair the net during the fourth round match between Jannik Sinner of Italy and Holger Rune of Denmark at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)

Staff work on repair the net during the fourth round match between Jannik Sinner of Italy and Holger Rune of Denmark at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)

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