The number of teenagers who reported using e-cigarettes in 2024 has tumbled from a worrisome peak reached five years ago, raising hopes among public health officials for a sustained reversal in vaping trends among adolescents.

In an annual survey conducted from January through May in schools across the nation, fewer than 8% of high school students reported using e-cigarettes in the past month, the lowest level in a decade.

That’s far lower than the apex, in 2019, when more than 27% of high school students who took the survey reported that they vaped — and an estimated 500,000 fewer adolescents than last year.

The data is from the National Youth Tobacco Survey, a questionnaire filled out by thousands of middle and high school students that is administered each year by the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

— The New York Times