Vaping blew up since I started high school, so I figured the numbers were only getting worse. But the good news is they’re actually not. According to NBC News reporting on the National Youth Tobacco Survey, youth e-cigarette use fell to its lowest level in a decade, dropping from 2.13 million middle and high school students in 2023 to 1.63 million in 2024. That’s about 1/3 of the 2019 peak, when over 5 million kids were vaping. That’s great news.

After talking about my grandmother and smoking, this topic means a lot to me. Addiction to nicotine usually starts at a young age, so less teens vaping now means less adults addicted to it later. It’s a reminder that prevention initiatives such as education, regulation, and awareness can actually work over time. We’re not done, but it’s pretty good progress.