Washington, D.C.
– September 30, 2021 – Results of the 2021 National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS) released today by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) highlight the ongoing public health threat posed by e-cigarettes, and the urgent need to remove flavored e-cigarettes and other flavored tobacco products from the market.
Following is a statement from the American Heart Association:
"The findings released today show that even as the COVID pandemic kept millions of kids home from school, it didn't keep more than 2 million middle and high school students from using e-cigarettes.
"It is especially concerning that flavored e-cigarettes continue to be the overwhelming choice, with more than 80 percent of middle and high school students who use e-cigarettes preferring flavored products.
"The results show that the crisis of e-cigarette use among youth remained very much alive even with kids spending large amounts of time at home during the pandemic. With millions of children having returned to school this fall, immediate action is needed to prevent the sale of flavored e-cigarettes and other tobacco products, including menthol products.
"The data show that more than half of middle and high school students who use e-cigarettes prefer disposable products, which are not subject to the FDA's 2020 enforcement policy restricting flavors in cartridge-based e-cigarettes. The growing popularity of disposable products since the FDA excluded them from its 2020 enforcement policy is yet another example of the tobacco industry manipulating regulatory loopholes to continue addicting youth and adults to its harmful products.
"We are also troubled by the numbers of students who closely identify with a particular e-cigarette brand, including brands that are attempting to evade all regulation by using synthetic nicotine instead of nicotine derived from tobacco.
"This report is a clear call to action for the FDA to reject the remaining premarket tobacco applications for flavored products, regulate synthetic nicotine and at long last prohibit the sale of any flavored tobacco product. In the meantime, states and communities should continue their groundbreaking efforts to pass laws and policies that remove flavored tobacco products, including menthol products, from the market."
