Decline Of Youth Vaping Signals a New Era, Exposes Outdated Arguments Of Opponents

Data from the latest National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS) delivers unequivocal good news: youth e-cigarette use continues its sharp decline. Not only is youth cigarette smoking at a historically low 1.4%, but also youth vaping at its lowest level in a decade, a reduction of 74% from its peak around 2019.

Yet arguments from opponents of reduced harm strategies remain stubbornly stuck in the past. They are fixated on blanket opposition, ignoring the new data in favor of their old narratives. After the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized certain vapor products this week, the Campaign For Tobacco Free Kids said the decision “puts at risk the progress our nation has made in reducing youth e-cigarette use.” Vin Gupta, a health policy researcher and MS NOW analyst, pointed back to his 2019 column denouncing vapes and declared “nothing has changed.”

Clearly, the NYTS numbers show that circumstances have changed.

While the decline in underage vaping is encouraging, its progress is undermined by the subsequent rise of illicit product streaming in from overseas.  The flood of illegal products – most from China – have overrun the U.S. market and are specifically targeted at underage users.

These unauthorized, often flavored disposables dominate sales outside regulated channels and appeal to younger audiences precisely because they evade quality and safety controls through FDA oversight.  

Legal, authorized products face rigorous review and marketing restrictions. The black market has no such restrictions. Underage users aren't primarily drawn to compliant options from responsible manufacturers; they're accessing cheap, unregulated imports sold illicitly. Focusing solely on restricting legal products misses this enforcement gap.

By urging FDA to keep flavored vapes illegal for sale in the U.S., critics are ignoring the illicit vapor crisis, a glaring public health crisis that worsens by the day.

To get tough on the illicit vapor product market, it’s going to take both authorization of legal products and enforcement against illicit product. That combination will enable the full potential of the innovation and technology of lower-risk, smoke-free products, and keep dangerous products away from underage users, while helping adult consumers make better choices.

More blanket prohibition will not end an illicit market fueled by prohibition. It's time to move beyond fear-based campaigns of the past and toward a pragmatic approach that protects underage users without sacrificing harm reduction for adults. It’s time for a smarter regulation of nicotine.

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