Tobacco Use Initiation

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In 2019, 2.6% of adolescents and young adults aged 12 to 25 began smoking cigarettes in the past year.

Summary graph for Tobacco Use Initiation, Click to see detailed view of graph

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Background

Because cigarette smoking typically begins during adolescence, tobacco use is often described as a “pediatric disease.” Nearly 90 percent of adults in the United States who smoke daily began smoking by age 18, and 98 percent first smoked by age 26. Nicotine is highly addictive; initiation of smoking during adolescence is linked to persistent smoking in adulthood and the many adverse health effects caused by smoking. Further, exposure to nicotine during adolescence may harm normal brain development, which continues until about age 25. Specifically, nicotine exposure during adolescence may impair development of brain regions involved in attention, learning, and impulse control, and it may prime the brain for addiction to other drugs.

Understanding trends in youth initiation of tobacco products – including cigarettes, electronic cigarettes, cigars, and smokeless tobacco – helps policy makers determine how to allocate prevention resources more effectively. Effective strategies to reduce youth initiation of tobacco use include federal regulation of tobacco products; significant increases in tobacco prices, including excise taxes; smokefree air laws; restrictions on tobacco advertising and promotion; restricting the availability of tobacco products to youth; mass-media public education campaigns; and full implementation of comprehensive state and community tobacco control programs. On December 20, 2019, legislation was enacted to amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, and raise the federal minimum age of sale of tobacco products from 18 to 21 years.

Measure

The percentage of individuals among those aged 12 to 25 years who said they had initiated cigarette smoking during the past 12 months.

The percentage of individuals among those aged 12 to 25 years who said they had initiated cigar smoking during the past 12 months.

The percentage of individuals among those aged 12 to 25 years who said they had initiated smokeless tobacco use during the past 12 months.

The percentage of individuals among those aged 12 to 25 years who said they had initiated use of any of these tobacco products during the past 12 months.

Note: Initiation measures included a numerator of the number of adolescents and young adults aged 12 to 25 years who used the specified tobacco product for the first time in the past 12 months and a denominator of the number of adolescents and young adults aged 12 to 25 years who did not use the specified tobacco product in their lifetime or who used the specified tobacco product for the first time in the past 12 months.

Note: Cigars include premium cigars, little cigars, and cigarillos.

Healthy People 2030 Target

  • Eliminate the initiation of the use of cigarettes among adolescents and young adults.

Healthy People 2030 is a set of goals set forth by the Department of Health and Human Services.
Note: Goals are indicated as blue line on Detailed Trend Graphs.

Data Source

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, National Household Survey on Drug Use and Health, 2008-2019.

Note: NSDUH, like many surveys, experienced significant challenges and changes during the 2020 fielding. The COVID-19 pandemic interrupted data collection in mid-March, and the survey did not resume until September of 2020. In the interim, many aspects of daily life were drastically altered, and these may have affected substance use behaviors. Beginning in October of 2020, data collection became almost entirely web-based, with very few in-person interviews. Overall response rates, and particularly youth interview response rates, dropped, and many interviews were not completed. As a result, 2020 data may not be internally consistent (i.e., Q1 to Q4) or comparable with previous survey years. During the 2021 fielding, data collection remained multimodal, with responses collected either in person or online. Estimates differed significantly based on the mode of data collection, diminishing the comparability of the 2021 survey to previous years. Data points from 2020 and 2021 are therefore not included in this report.

Trends and Most Recent EstimatesHelp with navigating the graphs and data tables

By Type of Tobacco Product

Initiation of the use of any tobacco product among adolescents and young adults aged 12-25 years by type of tobacco product, 2008-2019
Overview Graph Detailed Trend Graphs Most Recent Estimates (2019)
Percent 95% Confidence Interval
Thumbnail of graph for Initiation of the use of any tobacco product among adolescents and young adults aged 12-25 years by type of tobacco product, 2008-2019 Any Tobacco ProductClick to see the detailed trend graph for Any Tobacco Product 5.7 5.4 - 6.1
CigarettesClick to see the detailed trend graph for Cigarettes 2.6 2.3 - 2.8
Smokeless TobaccoClick to see the detailed trend graph for Smokeless Tobacco 1.3 1.1 - 1.5
CigarsClick to see the detailed trend graph for Cigars 2.7 2.5 - 3.0

Any Tobacco Product

By Sex
Initiation of the use of any tobacco product among adolescents and young adults aged 12-25 years by sex, 2008-2019
Overview Graph Detailed Trend Graphs Most Recent Estimates (2019)
Percent 95% Confidence Interval
Thumbnail of graph for Initiation of the use of any tobacco product among adolescents and young adults aged 12-25 years by sex, 2008-2019 Both SexesClick to see the detailed trend graph for Both Sexes 5.7 5.4 - 6.1
MaleClick to see the detailed trend graph for Male 6.7 6.2 - 7.2
FemaleClick to see the detailed trend graph for Female 4.8 4.3 - 5.2
By Race/Ethnicity
Initiation of the use of any tobacco product among adolescents and young adults aged 12-25 years by race/ethnicity, 2008-2019
Overview Graph Detailed Trend Graphs Most Recent Estimates (2019)
Percent 95% Confidence Interval
Thumbnail of graph for Initiation of the use of any tobacco product among adolescents and young adults aged 12-25 years by race/ethnicity, 2008-2019 All RacesClick to see the detailed trend graph for All Races 5.7 5.4 - 6.1
Non-Hispanic WhiteClick to see the detailed trend graph for Non-Hispanic White 6.9 6.4 - 7.4
Non-Hispanic BlackClick to see the detailed trend graph for Non-Hispanic Black 3.6 3.0 - 4.3
HispanicClick to see the detailed trend graph for Hispanic 5.0 4.3 - 5.8

Cigarettes

By Sex
Initiation of the use of cigarettes among adolescents and young adults aged 12-25 years by sex, 2008-2019
Overview Graph Detailed Trend Graphs Most Recent Estimates (2019)
Percent 95% Confidence Interval
Thumbnail of graph for Initiation of the use of cigarettes among adolescents and young adults aged 12-25 years by sex, 2008-2019 Both SexesClick to see the detailed trend graph for Both Sexes 2.6 2.3 - 2.8
MaleClick to see the detailed trend graph for Male 2.8 2.5 - 3.2
FemaleClick to see the detailed trend graph for Female 2.3 2.0 - 2.6
By Race/Ethnicity
Initiation of the use of cigarettes among adolescents and young adults aged 12-25 years by race/ethnicity, 2008-2019
Overview Graph Detailed Trend Graphs Most Recent Estimates (2019)
Percent 95% Confidence Interval
Thumbnail of graph for Initiation of the use of cigarettes among adolescents and young adults aged 12-25 years by race/ethnicity, 2008-2019 All RacesClick to see the detailed trend graph for All Races 2.6 2.3 - 2.8
Non-Hispanic WhiteClick to see the detailed trend graph for Non-Hispanic White 3.0 2.7 - 3.4
Non-Hispanic BlackClick to see the detailed trend graph for Non-Hispanic Black 1.5 1.1 - 2.0
HispanicClick to see the detailed trend graph for Hispanic 2.3 1.9 - 2.9

Smokeless Tobacco

By Sex
Initiation of the use of smokeless tobacco among adolescents and young adults aged 12-25 years, 2008-2019
Overview Graph Detailed Trend Graphs Most Recent Estimates (2019)
Percent 95% Confidence Interval
Thumbnail of graph for Initiation of the use of smokeless tobacco among adolescents and young adults aged 12-25 years, 2008-2019 Both SexesClick to see the detailed trend graph for Both Sexes 1.3 1.1 - 1.5
MaleClick to see the detailed trend graph for Male 1.7 1.5 - 1.9
FemaleClick to see the detailed trend graph for Female 0.9 0.7 - 1.1
By Race/Ethnicity
Initiation of the use of smokeless tobacco among adolescents and young adults aged 12-25 years by race/ethnicity, 2008-2019
Overview Graph Detailed Trend Graphs Most Recent Estimates (2019)
Percent 95% Confidence Interval
Thumbnail of graph for Initiation of the use of smokeless tobacco among adolescents and young adults aged 12-25 years by race/ethnicity, 2008-2019 All RacesClick to see the detailed trend graph for All Races 1.3 1.1 - 1.5
Non-Hispanic WhiteClick to see the detailed trend graph for Non-Hispanic White 1.6 1.4 - 1.9
Non-Hispanic BlackClick to see the detailed trend graph for Non-Hispanic Black 0.5 0.3 - 0.9
HispanicClick to see the detailed trend graph for Hispanic 1.2 0.9 - 1.6

Cigars

By Sex
Initiation of the use of cigars among adolescents and young adults aged 12-25 years, 2008-2019
Overview Graph Detailed Trend Graphs Most Recent Estimates (2019)
Percent 95% Confidence Interval
Thumbnail of graph for Initiation of the use of cigars among adolescents and young adults aged 12-25 years, 2008-2019 Both SexesClick to see the detailed trend graph for Both Sexes 2.7 2.5 - 3.0
MaleClick to see the detailed trend graph for Male 3.4 3.0 - 3.8
FemaleClick to see the detailed trend graph for Female 2.0 1.8 - 2.3
By Race/Ethnicity
Initiation of the use of cigars among adolescents and young adults aged 12-25 years by race/ethnicity, 2008-2019
Overview Graph Detailed Trend Graphs Most Recent Estimates (2019)
Percent 95% Confidence Interval
Thumbnail of graph for Initiation of the use of cigars among adolescents and young adults aged 12-25 years by race/ethnicity, 2008-2019 All RacesClick to see the detailed trend graph for All Races 2.7 2.5 - 3.0
Non-Hispanic WhiteClick to see the detailed trend graph for Non-Hispanic White 3.3 3.0 - 3.7
Non-Hispanic BlackClick to see the detailed trend graph for Non-Hispanic Black 2.0 1.6 - 2.5
HispanicClick to see the detailed trend graph for Hispanic 2.1 1.6 - 2.6

Additional Information on Tobacco Use Initiation

Year Range

2008-2019

Recent Summary Trend Year Range

2015-2019

Summary Tables

Smoking

Recent Summary Trend

Falling

Desired Direction

Falling