School Climate & Safety News in Brief

Youth Smoking Decline Stalls, And Vaping May Be to Blame

By The Associated Press — February 26, 2019 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Cigarette-smoking rates have stopped falling among U.S. children, and health officials believe youth vaping is responsible.

For decades, the percentage of high school and middle school students who smoked cigarettes had been declining fairly steadily. For the past three years, it has flattened, according to new numbers.

A recent boom in vaping is the most likely explanation, said Brian King of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The findings come from a national survey of more than 20,000 middle and high school students. About 8 percent of high schoolers said they had recently smoked cigarettes in 2018, and about 2 percent of middle schoolers did—about the same seen in surveys in 2016 and 2017. The CDC also found that about 2 in 5 high school students who used a vaping or tobacco product used more than one kind, and that the most common combination was e-cigarettes and cigarettes.

Related Tags:

A version of this article appeared in the February 27, 2019 edition of Education Week as Youth Smoking Decline Stalls, And Vaping May Be to Blame

Events

Recruitment & Retention Webinar EdRecruiter 2025 Survey Results: The Outlook for Recruitment and Retention
See exclusive findings from EdWeek’s nationwide survey of K-12 job seekers and district HR professionals on recruitment, retention, and job satisfaction. 
Jobs Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff
Find teaching jobs and K-12 education jubs at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
School & District Management Webinar
How District Leaders Align Curriculum, Assessment, and Instruction for Student Success
Join K-12 leaders as they share strategies for aligning curriculum, assessment, and instruction to support all learners.
Content provided by Otus

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

School Climate & Safety School Shootings in 2024: More Than Last Year, But Fewer Deaths
Education Week recorded the second-highest number of school shootings in 2024 since it started tracking the incidents in 2018.
4 min read
Photo of no gun sign on door.
iStock
School Climate & Safety Opinion 'Get Out of the Building Now': A Teacher Reflects on Violence
A bomb threat brings home to a veteran educator why schools and teachers matter.
Adam Patric Miller
3 min read
Illustration of dark tunnel with figure at end.
francescoch/Getty
School Climate & Safety Teacher and Teen Student Killed in Wisconsin School Shooting
At least six others were injured in what is the 39th school shooting of 2024 in which someone was killed or hurt.
5 min read
Emergency vehicles are parked outside the Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wis., where multiple injuries were reported following a shooting, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024.
Emergency vehicles parked outside the Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wis., where policy said a teenage student shot and killed a teacher and a classmate and injured several others on Monday, Dec. 16, 2024.
Scott Bauer/AP
School Climate & Safety Opinion Give the Gift of Kindness: How to Create a Culture of Gratitude in Your School
In the season of thanks and celebration, a middle school teacher proposes spreading a little joy through notecards.
Debbie Adkins
4 min read
Hands holding and opened envelope.
Vanessa Solis/Education Week + Getty Images