E-cigarette ads and youth
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From the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention
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Overview
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About 2.4 million middle and high
school students were current (past 30-day)
users of electronic cigarettes, or e-cigarettes,
in 2014. Most e-cigarettes contain nicotine,
which causes addiction; may harm brain
development; and could lead to continued
tobacco product use among youth.
Tobacco product advertising can
entice youth to use tobacco and spending
to advertise e-cigarettes has increased
rapidly since 2011. About 69 percent of
middle and high school students were
exposed to e-cigarette advertisements in
retail stores, on the Internet, in magazines/
newspapers or on TV/movies.
Exposure to e-cigarette advertise-
ments may be contributing to increases
in e-cigarette use among youth. Efforts
by states, communities and others could
reduce this exposure.
E-cigarette companies have rapidly increased advertising spending, from $6.4
million in 2011 to $115 million in 2014.
Many of the themes used in advertising for cigarettes also are now used to advertise
e-cigarettes – including sex, independence and rebellion.
During the time e-cigarette ads have increased, there also are increases in e-cigarette
use among U.S. youth. From 2011-2014, e-cigarette use in the past 30 days increased
from less than 1 percent to almost 4 percent among middle school students and
from less than 2 percent to 13 percent among high school students.
States and communities can:
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Fund tobacco prevention and control
programs at CDC-recommended lev-
els to prevent youth use of all tobacco
products, including e-cigarettes.
Work to limit where and how all
tobacco products, including e-cig-
arettes, are sold to reduce youth
e-cigarette use as well as ad exposure.
Support efforts to implement and sus-
tain proven youth tobacco prevention
actions such as tobacco price increases,
comprehensive smoke-free laws and
high-impact mass media campaigns.
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More than 18 million (7 in 10)
U.S. middle and high school youth
were exposed to e-cigarette ads
in 2014.
More than 1 in 2 middle and
high school youth were exposed
to e-cigarette ads in retail stores.
Nearly 2 in 5 middle and high
school youth saw e-cigarette
ads online.
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Pediatricians, nurses and other
health care providers can:
Problem
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Youth are vulnerable to
e-cigarette ads.
18 million youth were exposed to
e-cigarette ads in 2014.
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More than 10 million high school
students and nearly 8 million middle
school students were exposed to
e-cigarette ads in 2014.
More than half of high school students
(about 8 million) saw e-cigarette ads
in retail stores and more than 6 mil-
lion saw them on the Internet.
More than half of middle school
students (6 million) saw e-cigarettes
ads in retail stores and more than 4
million saw them on the Internet.
About 15 percent of all students
reported seeing e-cigarette ads from
all four sources, including retail
stores, the Internet, magazines/news-
papers and TV/movies.
Exposure to e-cigarette ads may con-
tribute to youth e-cigarette use:
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Siletz News
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Work to limit where and how all
tobacco products, including e-cig-
arettes, are sold to reduce youth
e-cigarette use as well as ad exposure.
This may include:
Requiring age verification to enter
e-cigarette vendors’ websites, make
purchases and accept deliveries of
e-cigarettes.
Restricting the number of stores that
sell tobacco and how close they can
be to schools.
Requiring that e-cigarettes be sold
only through face-to-face transac-
tions, not on the Internet.
Limiting tobacco product sales to
facilities that never admit youth.
Support efforts to implement and con-
tinue proven youth tobacco prevention
approaches, including tobacco price
increases, comprehensive smoke-free
laws and high-impact mass media
campaigns.
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What can be done?
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The federal government is:
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Supporting state tobacco prevention and control programs to prevent any youth
use of tobacco products, including e-cigarettes.
Tracking e-cigarette use; supporting research on the health effects and factors
contributing to youth e-cigarette use and providing information to the public,
including health care providers.
Developing regulations for e-cigarettes and other currently unregulated tobacco
products to reduce disease and death from tobacco use, including by preventing
youth tobacco use.
Funding and promoting campaigns that inform people about the dangers of tobacco
use, such as FDA’s The Real Cost and Fresh Empire for youth and CDC’s Tips From
Former Smokers for adults.
States and communities can:
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Fund tobacco prevention and control programs at CDC-recommended levels to
prevent youth use of all tobacco products, including e-cigarettes.
February 2016
Ask about youths’ e-cigarette use
and counsel them about the dangers
of nicotine, e-cigarettes and all other
tobacco use.
Ask all patients whether they use
tobacco products, encourage those
who do to quit and provide help
with quitting.
Ask about youths’ media and Internet
use. Advise parents and caregivers to
take an active role in deciding which
websites and media children may view
and teaching critical viewing skills.
Parents and caregivers can:
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Set a positive example by being tobacco-
free. For free help, call 800-QUIT-NOW
or visit smokefree.gov.
Talk to youth about why they shouldn’t
use any tobacco products, including
e-cigarettes.
Know what media their children are
viewing and decide what programs
and websites are appropriate for their
age. Watch programs together and
discuss content.