Flavored Tobacco Product Use Among Middle and High School Students - United States, 2014-2018.

Introduction:
This text is a summary of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on the use of flavored tobacco products among middle and high school students in the US from 2014-2018. The report highlights the trends in the use of flavored tobacco products, including electronic cigarettes, hookah tobacco, cigars, pipe tobacco, smokeless tobacco, bidis, and menthol cigarettes. The study also discusses the regulations and policies regarding the use of flavored tobacco products.

Key Points:

* The study used data from the National Youth Tobacco Surveys (NYTS) from 2014-2018 to determine the prevalence of current (past 30-day) use of flavored tobacco products among middle and high school students in the US.
* The use of flavored tobacco products decreased overall from 70.0% in 2014 to 64.1% in 2018. However, the use of flavored electronic cigarettes increased among high school students during 2014-2018 and middle school students during 2015-2018.
* The use of flavored hookah tobacco decreased among middle and high school students, while the use of flavored smokeless tobacco, cigars, pipe tobacco, and menthol cigarettes decreased among high school students.
* The study found that in 2018, 64.1% of youth tobacco product users currently used one or more flavored tobacco products. Among current users of any tobacco product, 65.2% reported using at least one flavored tobacco product in the past 30 days.
* The study also highlights the regulations and policies regarding the use of flavored tobacco products, including the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, which prohibits the inclusion of characterizing flavors other than tobacco and menthol in cigarettes, but not in other tobacco products at the federal level.
* The report emphasizes the importance of comprehensive tobacco prevention and control strategies, coupled with regulation of tobacco products by the FDA, to help prevent and reduce use of tobacco products, including flavored tobacco products, among US youths.

Main Message:
The main message of the text is that while there has been a decrease in the use of flavored tobacco products among middle and high school students in the US from 2014-2018, the use of flavored electronic cigarettes has increased. This highlights the need for continued monitoring and regulation of flavored tobacco products to prevent and reduce their use among youths. The report emphasizes the importance of comprehensive tobacco prevention and control strategies, coupled with regulation of tobacco products by the FDA, to help prevent and reduce use of tobacco products, including flavored tobacco products, among US youths.

Cullen KA, Liu ST, Bernat JK, et al. Flavored Tobacco Product Use Among Middle and High School Students - United States, 2014-2018. MMWR Morbidity and mortality weekly report. 2019;68(39):839-844. doi:10.15585/mmwr.mm6839a2