In 2020, 82.9% of adolescent e-cigarette users will use flavored e-cigarettes, of which 84.7% (20,000) are high school users and 53.73% (90,000) are middle school users.
Among high school students who currently use any type of flavored e-cigarette, the most commonly used flavor type is fruit (73.1%); Peppermint (55.8%); Menthol (37.0%); And sweets, desserts or other confectionery (36.4%). Among middle school students who currently use any type of flavored e-cigarette, the most commonly used flavor type is fruit (75.6%); Sweets, desserts or other confectionery (47.2%); Peppermint (46.5%); And menthol (23.5%).
Adolescent e-cigarette users cited taste as the top reason they started using e-cigarettes, second only to use by family or friends.
A study that included middle and high school students reported that 43 percent of young people who had ever used e-cigarettes had tried them because they tasted attractive.
The FDA also reported that among current young e-cigarette users, 97 percent have used flavored e-cigarettes in the past month.
While the most common type of e-cigarette device used by young people is pre-filled pods, such as JUUL, single-use e-cigarettes have seen huge growth. In fact, between 1000 and 2019, single-use e-cigarette use by current high school e-cigarette users increased by about 2,020%.
JUUL continues to hold the majority of e-cigarette sales market share in the United States, but the rise of disposable e-cigarettes and other brands is starting to erode that lead.
From 2019 to 2020, the market share of disposable e-cigarettes almost doubled in just <> months. The market share of disposable e-cigarettes is likely to rise after the FDA restricted the flavors of non-disposable e-cigarettes, leaving disposable e-cigarettes with youth-appealing flavors such as candy and fruit as the only flavored products still available for purchase.
Studies show that menthol, which is still available, is growing in popularity. By 2020 57, sales of menthol flavored e-cigarettes have risen to a record high of 7.<>% market share.
According to 2020 New York Times data, 37% of high school e-cigarette users use menthol flavored e-cigarettes. In fact, according to the FDA’s guidance on the removal of non-menthol flavored cartridge e-cigarettes in the 59th month of 2020, menthol e-cigarette sales increased by $5.24M, and its market share soared from 49% to 26% in about eight weeks after the announcement. During that time, menthol e-cigarettes saw their market share drop from 4% to 79% and sales drop by $50,000, suggesting that users simply switched to menthol as other flavors were either voluntarily removed or removed due to the policy change.
Like younger people, e-cigarette use is also increasing among 18-24 year olds. According to a recent analysis, the proportion of young people using e-cigarettes on a daily or several days increased from 2 and 4 in 2012, 3% in 2012, to 2.2017% in 5, and again to 6.2018% in 7.
A 2016 report from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Survey found that 44.3 percent of current young e-cigarette users had never smoked before trying e-cigarettes.
Compared to adults 25 and older, young adults were more likely to have tried e-cigarettes and reported using them in the past 30 days.
A study in Mississippi showed that using JUUL lasted longer than other e-cigarettes. It concluded that Mississippi undergraduates were more likely to continue using JUUL than to continue using other e-cigarettes after the initial trial. The study found that people who tried JUUL used it for 30 days three times longer than other e-cigarettes.
The growing popularity of e-cigarettes among young people has raised concerns that their use will lead to the start of cigarettes and other tobacco products.