Fact Sheet
Youth and Tobacco Use: Current Estimates
Cigarette Smoking

• Twenty-three percent of high school students in the United States are current cigarette smokers—23% of females and 22.9% of males.
• Approximately 26% of whites, 22% of Hispanics, and 13% of African Americans in high school are current cigarette smokers.
• Eight percent of middle school students in this country are current cigarette smokers, with estimates slightly higher for females (9%) than males (8%).
• Nine percent of whites, 10% of Hispanics, 8% of African Americans, and 3% of Asian Americans in middle school are current cigarette smokers.
• Each day in the United States, approximately 4,000 young people between the ages of 12 and 17 years initiate cigarette smoking, and an estimated 1,140 young people become daily cigarette smokers.

Other Tobacco Use

• Thirteen percent of high school students are current cigar smokers, with estimates higher for males (18%) than for females (8%). Nationally, an estimated 5% of all middle school students are current cigar smokers, with estimates of 7% for males and 4% for females.
• An estimated 10% of males in high school are current smokeless tobacco users, as are an estimated 4% of males in middle school.
• An estimated 3% of high school students are current users of bidis; bidi use is more common among males (4%) than females (2%). An estimated 2% of middle school students are bidi users, with estimates of 3% for males and 2% for females.

Tobacco Quiz