WEDNESDAY, Oct. 28, 2026 (HealthDay News) -- More people in the United States are vaping and at a higher frequency since 2013, according to a study published online Oct. 20 in Tobacco Control.
Makenna N. Gomes, from the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada, and colleagues examined population-level patterns of e-cigarette use between 2013-2014 and 2022-2023 in both youth (aged 12 to 17 years) and adults. The total number of vaping days was determined using data from the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health study.
The researchers observed increases in total vaping days (+183 percent), past 30-day vaping (+45 percent), and daily vaping (+230 percent) over time. Among those under the minimum legal age of 21 years and those who vaped in the past 30 days, vaping days more than quadrupled (+337 percent) and accounted for 16 percent of all vaping days in the 2022-2023 wave. Since the pandemic, adult vaping days continued to increase due to increases in vaping frequency and population growth.
"The most significant increases in the prevalence and frequency of vaping occurred after 2016-18, a period which corresponds with the rise of JUUL and the shift towards e-liquids containing nicotine salts," the authors said in a statement. "These salts change the chemistry of vaping aerosol and facilitate inhalation and nicotine intake."
One author disclosed serving as a paid expert witness on behalf of public health authorities in response to litigation from the tobacco, vaping, and cannabis industries.
