Recently, the CDC published overwhelmingly positive news: Youth vaping is down by 60% or more since the high watermark (in 2019) of kids using e-cigarettes.
But you’d have to use your own calculator to figure that out if you only read the CDC’s report on the data.
And the FDA Center for Tobacco Products’ interpretation also plays fast and loose with the numbers, suggesting many more teens and youth are using e-cigarettes than what the data actually show.
I agree with the CDC and the FDA: Youth should not vape or use tobacco products of any kind, especially combustible cigarettes. As a family physician whose mother died of smoking related causes, I also am committed to tobacco harm reduction for adult smokers unable or unwilling to quit.
The evidence-based, data-driven approaches of public health agencies in the United Kingdom and New Zealand show tobacco harm reduction for adult smokers works to reduce smoking. It is possible to educate adult smokers about the real health benefits of vaping and also to keep e-cigarettes and other tobacco products out of the hands of children.
Dr. Michael Madden – TRIB Live – 2021-12-07.