The anti-tobacco Truth Initiative tweeted that the smoking
rate among young adults (18-24 year old) in the U.S. is “just 10.4%,” based on
the 2017 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) (here).
But the Initiative didn’t tell the whole tobacco “truth.” Using the same NHIS data, I prepared the
chart at left which confirms that smoking is way down among young adults, continuing
a decline I reported previously (here). Nearly 85% of young adults have never smoked,
including 2.7% who currently vape, 13% who tried e-cigarettes and 69% who never
used either product.
Among the 5% who are former smokers in this age group, over
half were current vapers or had tried vaping products. Even more impressive, 7 out of 10 current
smokers were either current vapers or had tried e-cigarettes, meaning they
could eventually make the switch to smoke-free.
Advocates of greater tobacco control make a specious boast
when they celebrate lower smoking rates while ignoring the positive impact of
vaping.
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