Rising Popularity of E-Cigarettes Among American Adults: FTC Report

According to a report released by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on April 6th, the use of e-cigarettes among adults in the United States is increasingly common.

A report has shown that the sales of nine leading e-cigarette manufacturers in the United States surged by approximately $370 million from 2020 to 2021, with total sales reaching around $2.67 billion. At the same time, the proportion of teenagers using e-cigarettes is declining. Government data reveals that compared to 2019, the proportion of teenagers using e-cigarettes dropped by over 60% in 2023. In 2019, around 5.3 million middle and high school students admitted to using e-cigarettes, but by 2023, this number had decreased to 2.1 million.

Allison Boughner, Vice President of the American E-Cigarette Manufacturers Association, stated, "We are working hard to do the right thing, because we want to show the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that we are not part of the problem, but rather a solution for adult smokers."

Buna also emphasized that the focus of the e-cigarette industry is to help adults quit traditional tobacco and switch to using e-cigarettes. The FTC report mentioned that since 2021, the e-cigarette industry has been making efforts to prevent e-cigarettes from falling into the hands of young people, including at least five companies requiring third-party age verification for customers to join their mailing lists.

Although the number of teenagers using e-cigarettes has decreased, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that e-cigarettes are still the most commonly used tobacco products among middle and high school students.