Amongst middle school students, the figure dropped from 10.5% (1.24 million) in 2019, to 4.7% (550 000).
The survey collected data from 270,000 students in middle schools and 124,119 questionnaires from college students in 31 province-level places across China. The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China’s CDC) said that nearly 5% of local students in middle schools are smokers, and 3.6% are vapers.
The research team also found that 7.1% male and 1.9% female students are regular smokers, while 16.1% have ever tried e-cigarettes and 3.6% vape regularly. Moreover, despite a ban on tobacco sales to minors, the study reported that over 77% of the student smokers have not been refused when buying cigarettes, while 70.8% of young vapers were allowed to purchase e-cigs.
The declining smoking rates and inclining vaping rates
Meanwhile, other surveys released to mark World Vape Day, indicated a declining tendency to smoke among young adults, and a parallel increased tendency to vape. On the other hand in the US, the 2020 National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS) conducted by researchers at the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), indicated that e-cigarette use amongst teens dropped by a third.
The school-based survey was carried out between January 16th and March 16th, and it indicated that 19.6% of high school students (3.02 million) reported e-cigarette use, down from 27.5% (4.11 million) in 2019. The figure similarly dropped amongst middle school students,lj from 10.5% (1.24 million) in 2019, to 4.7% (550 000).
However, despite these promising numbers pointed out the FDA, having increased dramatically since 2011, teen vaping rates remain relatively high, with 3.6 million youth believed to be current users. Moreover, explained the agency, data indicated an alarming increase in the number of teens using disposable e-cigarettes.
Read Further: Global Times
