The Virginia Department of Health has recently released the 2023 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) results. This biennial survey tracks various behaviors among Virginia’s middle and high school students including dietary habits, physical fitness, mental health, and substance use. For policymakers focused on youth tobacco and vapor product use, the data from Virginia are encouraging, showing that traditional tobacco use remains at record lows and vapor product use has significantly declined since 2019.

In 2023, only 0.6% of Virginia middle schoolers reported currently smoking combustible cigarettes, with “current use” defined as having used the product at least once in the past 30 days. Furthermore, just 0.2% of middle schoolers reported daily use of combustible cigarettes, marking some of the lowest rates among this group. Other forms of tobacco use have also decreased. For instance, only 0.9% of middle schoolers were currently using smokeless tobacco products such as snuff, dip, snus, or dissolvable tobacco, and the same percentage reported currently smoking cigars.

Concerns among policymakers about the rise in youth use of e-cigarettes mirror national trends. Vaping among Virginia middle school students reached its peak in 2019, with 6.1% reporting current e-cigarette use. From 2019 to 2023, current e-cigarette use among these students fell by 31.1% to 4.2%, and daily e-cigarette use dropped by 20%.

Similar trends are observed among Virginia high school students. In 2023, only 2% reported current use of combustible cigarettes, and 0.5% reported daily use. From 2019 to 2023, current cigarette use decreased by 63.6%, and daily use declined by 54.5%. Smoking rates are the lowest ever recorded, having fallen by 86.7% since 2011 when 15% of high school students reported smoking.

The use of other traditional tobacco products is also on the decline. In 2023, 3.4% of high schoolers reported current use of cigar products, and 1.5% were using smokeless tobacco. Between 2019 and 2023, current cigar use decreased by 27.7%, and smokeless tobacco use dropped by 60.5%.

Vapor product use among high school students peaked in 2019 when nearly one-fifth (19.9%) were using e-cigarettes and 4.2% reported daily use. By 2023, current e-cigarette use had decreased by 59.3% to 8.1%, and daily use had fallen by 26.2% to 3.1%.

Virginia is one of the few states that offers insight into the reasons why youth are vaping. It should be emphasized that flavors are not a major factor in why youth are vaping. In 2023, among high school students who had ever used an e-cigarette, the most cited reason for use was feelings of anxiety, depression, and/or stress, as reported by 28.2% of students. An additional 26.6% of students reported using e-cigarettes because they were curious. Only 4.3% of Virginia high schoolers who had ever used an e-cigarette reported they used them because they were available in flavors.

Virginia policymakers should find the 2023 YRBS results encouraging. Despite the spike in youth vaping in 2019, both traditional tobacco and vapor product use among youth have significantly declined in recent years. Future policies should reflect these trends and avoid imposing overly harsh regulations or taxes on adults who smoke or vape in an effort to curb youth tobacco use.

Lindsey Stroud is a Visiting Fellow at Independent Women’s Forum, a Senior Fellow at the Taxpayers Protection Alliance, and a board member with the American Vapor Manufacturers Association.