NEW YORK — Teen smoking hit a new low last year while the popularity of electronic cigarettes and water pipes boomed, a government report shows.
High school students who tried e-cigarettes tripled in one year, to more than 13 percent. Water pipes or hookahs were used by 9.4 percent.
But smoking of traditional cigarettes plummeted to 9.2 percent from more than 13 percent. That means smoking in high school is now less common than e-cigarette or hookah use.
The decline in cigarette smoking “is very dramatic and very encouraging,” said Robin Koval, president of Legacy, an anti-smoking organization.
The report released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention mirrors the results of another government-funded study issued in December.
The CDC report is based on a national survey of about 22,000 students at middle schools and high schools, both public and private. Similar trends were found for middle school but at lower levels of use.
Students were asked whether they had smoked or used a tobacco product in the previous 30 days. Those who said yes were deemed current smokers.
The report also found declines in the use of cigars, chewing tobacco and snuff among high school students.
CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden this week described the findings as “alarming.” He said the decline in use of most tobacco products was more than offset by the growth in nicotine-laden e-cigarettes and hookahs.
Some public health experts say the CDC is taking an unusually hard stand against e-cigarettes, at a time when scientists are trying to determine how harmful they are. They started selling in the U.S. in 2006.
“The CDC has been very one-sided on the e-cigarette issue,” said Kenneth Warner, a University of Michigan public health professor who is a leading authority on smoking and health.
E-cigarettes are battery-powered devices that produce an odorless vapor that typically contains nicotine and flavorings. Scientists say nicotine is harmful for the developing brain.
