Since 1975 the MTF survey has measured drug and alcohol use and related attitudes among adolescent students nationwide. Survey participants report their drug use behaviors across three time periods: lifetime, past year, and past month. Overall, 42,531 students from 396 public and private schools participated in this year’s Monitoring the Future survey. The survey is funded by the NIDA, a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and conducted by the University of Michigan.
Results from the 2019 survey related to tobacco and nicotine use include the following highlights:
- Use of regular cigarettes continues to decline among teens, especially among 12th graders who had a significant decline in past month use, now at 5.7%, down from 7.6% last year and 13.6% five years ago.
- In 2019, 2.4% of 12th graders said they smoked cigarettes daily, a significant decline from 3.6% in 2018. However, 11.7% said they vaped nicotine daily in 2019, the first year daily vaping use has been measured.
- One in 4 12th graders say they vaped nicotine in the past month, along with 1 in 5 10th graders, and nearly 1 in 10 eighth graders.
- Many teens say they vape for the flavor, to experiment, for social reasons, or to feel good. However, from 2018-2019, the number of 12th graders saying they vape because they are “hooked” more than doubled to 8.1%, up from 3.6%. It is important to note that not all teens know what is in the products they are vaping.
For more information, check out the 2019 Monitoring the Future landing page.