The sharp increase has public health experts worried. Electronic cigarettes contain the addictive chemical nicotine and traces of cancer-causing compounds called nitrosamines. The safety profile of the devices has not been fully studied, according to warnings from the Food and Drug Administration.
In addition, e-cigarettes are sold with cartridges that give them enticing flavors such as mint or chocolate, and health advocates fear they have the potential to turn teens on to regular cigarettes.
"The increased use of e-cigarettes by teens is deeply troubling," Dr. Tom Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in a statement. "Many teens who start with e-cigarettes may be condemned to struggling with a lifelong addiction to nicotine and conventional cigarettes."
The new study, published in Friday's edition of the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, is based on data from the National Youth Tobacco Survey. It found that 1.1% of students in grades 6 through 8 were using e-cigarettes at least once a month, as were 2.8% of students in grades 9 to 12.
Among these regular e-cigarette users, 76.3% also smoked traditional cigarettes. But the report's authors — from the FDA's Center for Tobacco Products and the CDC's Office on Smoking and Health — expressed particular concern about students who had used e-cigarettes but had not yet tried conventional cigarettes. The researchers estimated that 160,000 students across the country fell into that category.
"The risk for nicotine addiction and initiation of the use of conventional cigarettes or other tobacco products" among these students is a "serious concern," they wrote.
Cigarette smoking is responsible for more than 440,000 deaths each year, including 49,400 due to secondhand smoke, according to the CDC. Tobacco use is the No. 1 cause of preventable death in the U.S., and it contributes to cancers of the lung and other organs, cardiovascular disease and respiratory ailments."
In addition, e-cigarettes are sold with cartridges that give them enticing flavors such as mint or chocolate, and health advocates fear they have the potential to turn teens on to regular cigarettes.
"The increased use of e-cigarettes by teens is deeply troubling," Dr. Tom Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in a statement. "Many teens who start with e-cigarettes may be condemned to struggling with a lifelong addiction to nicotine and conventional cigarettes."
The new study, published in Friday's edition of the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, is based on data from the National Youth Tobacco Survey. It found that 1.1% of students in grades 6 through 8 were using e-cigarettes at least once a month, as were 2.8% of students in grades 9 to 12.
Among these regular e-cigarette users, 76.3% also smoked traditional cigarettes. But the report's authors — from the FDA's Center for Tobacco Products and the CDC's Office on Smoking and Health — expressed particular concern about students who had used e-cigarettes but had not yet tried conventional cigarettes. The researchers estimated that 160,000 students across the country fell into that category.
"The risk for nicotine addiction and initiation of the use of conventional cigarettes or other tobacco products" among these students is a "serious concern," they wrote.
Cigarette smoking is responsible for more than 440,000 deaths each year, including 49,400 due to secondhand smoke, according to the CDC. Tobacco use is the No. 1 cause of preventable death in the U.S., and it contributes to cancers of the lung and other organs, cardiovascular disease and respiratory ailments."
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