Teens Less likely to Smoke Cigarettes, More likely to use E-Cigarettes and Hookahs

A recent report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that more teenagers who used to smoke are using e-cigarettes and hookahs as an alternative instead.

According to data analyzed from the 2012 National Youth Tobacco Survey, which surveyed children from the sixth-grade all the way up to the 12th grade, researchers reported that overall, percentages of children from middle school and high school that used tobacco were 6.7 and 23.3 percent. These percentages were one percent lower than they were in 2011. Findings also showed that 14 percent of high school students smoked in 2012, while the rates were 15.8 in 2011 and as high as 28 percent in 2000, respectively.

However, many are concerned by these drops, as teenagers and younger children are turning to federally unregulated and taxed products, including hookahs and e-cigarettes.

This report raises a red flag about newer tobacco products,'' said CDC Director Tom Frieden, via the Wall Street Journal. Cigars and hookahs are an "addictive and deadly'' form of smoking, he added.

The report shows that in 2013, 5.4 percent of high school students used hookahs at least once a month. Yet in 2011, that percent was 4.1. e-cigarette use in high-school students has also seen an increase from 1.5 to 2.8 percent from 2011 to 2012.

"Cigars and hookah tobacco are smoked tobacco-addictive and deadly," Frieden added, via USA Today. "We need effective action to protect our kids from addiction to nicotine."

More information regarding the report can be found via the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.