More than 1 in 10 young adults use electronic cigarettes to inhale tobacco in the process called vaping, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Friday.
The CDC found 11% of adults ages 18-24 reported using e-cigarettes, including 11.6% of men and 10.3% of women. The federal agency collected the data from a national health survey in 2021, the most recent year for which figures are available.
Young adults in this age group were the likeliest to vape, with usage highest among White respondents and those from lower income levels. Overall, 4.5% of all adults surveyed said they engage in the habit.
“E-cigarette use among young adults is not considered safe,” CDC statistician Ellen Kramarow, a co-author of the report, told The Washington Times.
Vaping involves using battery-operated e-cigarettes to heat a liquid solution, creating an aerosol that users inhale into their lungs.
Most vapes contain nicotine. All contain chemicals that doctors have warned can be more addictive than traditional cigarettes, besides increasing the risk of heart, lung and blood vessel diseases.
The CDC report also offers the first snapshot of dual users of cigarettes and e-cigarettes.
It found that young adults ages 18-24 had the lowest levels of smoking cigarettes only (3.6%) and the highest levels of using e-cigarettes only (9.2%).
The percentage who said they dually use cigarettes and e-cigarettes was about the same for people ages 18-24 (1.8%) and 25-44 (2%), making adults under 45 the likeliest to be dual users.
Public health officials have condemned e-cigarettes in all cases except for people using them to quit cigarettes. They warn that vaping speeds up the heart rate and increases blood pressure.
In a statement published Monday, the American Heart Association flagged “independent health risks” in the nicotine, flavoring agents, sweeteners, propylene glycol and vegetable glycerol used to make e-cigarettes.
“E-cigarettes deliver numerous substances into the body that are potentially harmful, including chemicals and other compounds that are likely not known to or understood by the user,” Dr. Jason J. Rose, a professor and associate dean at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore, said in the statement.
Tests have shown that the chemicals and flavoring agents used to improve the taste of e-cigarettes also increase the risk of heart and lung disease, he added.
While cigarette usage has fallen to record lows nationwide, more and more young people have reported vaping in recent years.
Multiple reports have shown e-cigarettes and marijuana becoming more popular among young people as traditional cigarette use fades among all but the oldest adults.
The American Heart Association statement noted that “e-cigarette use more than doubled from 2017 to 2019 among middle and high school students.”
In the latest Gallup poll released last November, the share of young adults ages 18 to 29 who reported smoking ordinary cigarettes in the past week hit a new bottom of 12% between 2019 and 2022.
That was down 23 percentage points from an average of 35% from 2001 to 2003, the company reported.
At the same time, an average of 19% of young adults in that age group told Gallup they smoked e-cigarettes during the past week between 2019 and 2022.
Marijuana use, also discouraged by the American Heart Association for the same reasons, has become even more common. Between 2019 and 2022, an average of 26% in the same age group told Gallup they smoked marijuana, up from 17% between 2013 and 2015.
Gallup has surveyed Americans’ cigarette smoking habits in three-year intervals since 2001. In separate polling, the company has surveyed marijuana smoking habits since 2013 and e-cigarette use since 2019.
“Both vaping and marijuana are more common activities for young adults than traditional cigarette smoking,” Gallup said in November, noting the impact of marijuana legalization in a growing number of states.
• Sean Salai can be reached at ssalai@washingtontimes.com.