U.S. Youth Vaping Falls to Historic Low

Youth tobacco use in the United States continued to decline in 2025, with nicotine vaping among middle and high school students falling to 5.2%, its lowest level since the 2019 peak, and cigarette smoking reaching a historic low of 1.4%. Central Pennsylvania schools are reporting similar progress, including a roughly 20% drop in vaping-related disciplinary incidents at Penn Manor High School. Public health experts attribute the trend to prevention efforts, stronger enforcement and age restrictions, education about health risks, and school policies such as vape detectors, while warning that nicotine use remains particularly difficult to stop when it begins in middle school. Nicotine-pouch use, by contrast, has increased over the past five years but remained relatively low and stable at 1.7% in 2025. Experts say the gains should not weaken youth prevention efforts, while adults who continue to smoke need accurate information about cessation and the relative risks of regulated alternatives; the FDA has authorized modified-risk claims for 20 ZYN products but has not deemed them safe or recommended that nonusers begin using nicotine.