FDA Finally Releases 2025 National Youth Tobacco Survey Analysis

FDA has finally released its full analysis of the 2025 National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS). And the news is good! Youth tobacco and nicotine use remains near historic lows, vaping continues to decline, and nicotine pouch use remained low and stable from the previous year.  

Back in March, the FDA released the 2025 NYTS dataset without an accompanying analysis. That left everyone—from policymakers to media—to interpret the numbers themselves.

FDA has now published both an official summary and a peer-reviewed analysis in Nicotine & Tobacco Research, providing a clearer picture of the results.

Approximately 7.2% of middle and high school students reported current tobacco or nicotine use in 2025, representing about 2 million students. While any youth use remains a concern, the figure continues the broad decline seen in recent years and remains far below the levels recorded at the height of the youth vaping surge. 

The graph below shows how product use by U.S. middle and high school students has changed since 2019. 

*Source data: NYTS 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025

Overall youth tobacco and nicotine use has declined sharply since 2019. Youth vaping has fallen substantially from its peak, cigarette smoking remains near historic lows, and nicotine pouch use is still uncommon.

Nicotine pouches were only added to the NYTS in 2021, so the available trend line is shorter than it is for cigarettes and e-cigarettes.

E-cigarettes remained the most commonly used product among youth, with 5.2% of youth reporting use during the previous 30 days.

That figure remains a concern, but it is also part of a clear downward trend from the much higher levels recorded in 2019. FDA’s analysis found that e-cigarette use declined from 2022 through 2025.

Approximately 1.7% of youth reported current nicotine pouch use in 2025. FDA noted that use among high school students increased over the longer period from 2022 to 2025, but overall youth pouch use remained low and did not increase between 2024 and 2025.

That context is often lost in media coverage that presents nicotine pouches as a rapidly escalating youth crisis. Continued monitoring and prevention are appropriate, but the available national data do not show a broad surge in use during the most recent year.

The FDA’s full analysis shows that declines are broad, youth use is at low levels, and emerging product categories are not reversing overall trends.

That does not mean youth use should be dismissed, as nicotine products should never be sold or provided to anyone under 21. But policy and media should also reflect the actual scale and direction of the problem.

Maintaining youth protections while addressing adult smoking remains key to future progress. The challenge for policymakers is balance: sustaining the progress made on youth use while enabling evidence-based approaches that address adult smoking. Striking that balance could deliver even greater public health gains.

Important Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational and policy commentary purposes only. It does not make any claim that nicotine pouches are safe, safer than cigarettes or other tobacco products, or effective for smoking cessation. Any reduced-risk or modified-risk claim would require separate authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the specific product.

Nicotine is addictive and intended only for adults age 21 and over who currently use tobacco or nicotine. Adults considering changes to their tobacco or nicotine use should consult a qualified healthcare professional.