E-Cigarettes “Currently Used” by 4.2% of Men and 3.4% of Women in 2014, as Smoking Declined

Last week I announced first-ever national estimates, generated from new CDC data, of U.S. e-cigarette users in 2014, almost two million of whom are former smokers.  Here, I provide more information about current e-cigarette use, especially in the context of current smoking.

The first chart shows the percentages of men and women in the U.S. who smoked in 2013 and 2014, along with e-cigarette use in 2014.  Among men, smoking declined from 20.5% to 18.8%, despite the fact that 4.2% were e-cigarette users.  Smoking among women also declined, although the drop wasn’t as strong.  Overall 3.4% of women currently used e-cigarettes in 2014. 

The remaining charts show e-cigarette and smoking rates for men and women ages 18-24, 25-44, 45-64 and 65+ years.  Smoking declined among men at all ages, with the largest declines at 18-24 years (-16%), 45-64 years (-11%) and 65+ years (-9%).  Among women, declines in smoking were only seen in those 18-24 years (-3%) and 45-64 years (-7%).

E-cigarette use among men was 5.8% at age 18-24 years and was lower in each successive age group.  The same pattern occurred among women, with 4.4% of 18-24 year olds vaping. 

While prohibitionists insist that e-cigarettes will “re-normalize” smoking and erase decades of progress, CDC data clearly show that smoking continued to decline in 2014 as e-cigarettes surge in popularity.