The Massachusetts Department of Public Health, in collaboration with the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, has released the 2023 Massachusetts Youth Health Survey (MYHS) results. The biennial survey tracks health status, risk behaviors, and protective factors among middle- and high-school students in the Bay State.

The survey brings encouraging news for policymakers focused on reducing youth tobacco and vapor product use, which have both declined significantly in recent years. 

According to the MYHS, among Massachusetts high school students, 12.1% reported having ever used a combustible cigarette in 2023—a slight increase from 11.8% in 2021, but a significant 19.9% decline from 2019 when 15.1% had tried smoking. Among middle schoolers, 4.5% had tried a cigarette in 2023. This marked a 2.3% increase from 2021, but a 13.5% decrease from 2019.

E-cigarette use among high school students has also decreased. In 2023, 30.4% of Massachusetts high schoolers reported having tried a vapor product, down from 30.9% of students in 2021. Further, ever-use of e-cigarettes has decreased by 40.5% since 2019, when more than half (51.1%) of high school students had tried e-cigarettes. Current use, defined as using the product at least once in the previous 30 days, is also down. Between 2021 and 2023, current e-cigarette use decreased by 9.1%, from 17.6% of students to 16%.

However, e-cigarette use among middle school students has increased. In 2023, 11.7% reported trying e-cigarettes, up from 10.1% in 2021. In the same year, 4.6% of Massachusetts middle schoolers reported currently using e-cigarettes, which was a 6.5% increase from 2021. These trends among middle school students reflect national patterns.

Interestingly, in 2020, Massachusetts banned the sale of menthol cigarettes and other flavored tobacco products, including non-tobacco-flavored e-cigarettes, largely to affect youth e-cigarette use. Yet, vapor product use among Bay State high schoolers mirrors trends in neighboring states and national data.

In 2023, 16.7% of New Hampshire high school students and 16.5% of Rhode Island high schoolers were currently using e-cigarettes—compared to the 16% of Massachusetts high schoolers vaping in 2023.

As a tobacco harm reduction tool, the effectiveness of restrictive policies addressing youth e-cigarette use is questionable, and they may adversely affect adults using these products to remain smoke-free. Policymakers in Massachusetts and other states should reconsider the impact of such measures.

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.