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Proponents of a vape ban have continued to double down on the "5 million teens" number as evidence of a youth use "epidemic." This figure relates to "current" use only (within last 30 days) and is absolutely not based on the number of "frequent" or "daily" users. A thread. 
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From HHS Secretary Azar to Kellyanne Conway, proponents of a ban within the administration have used the 5 million number as a justification for banning the products, despite prevalence of use among adults. The number is based on extrapolating figures within the NYTS 2019 data.
The 2019 NYTS data for high school students (27.5% use) and middle school students (10.5% use) is use of an e-cigarette at least once in the last 30 days. This is NOT "life-altering addiction" or daily use of the products. It is OCCASIONAL perhaps once-in-a-month use by teens.
As the Journal of American Medical Association explained: The NYTS data would suggest that in 2019 an estimated 1.6 million students reported frequent use of e-cigarettes and an estimated 970,000 students use e-cigarettes daily. That& #39;s a far cry from 5 million addicted teens.
The link to the 2019 NYTS data can be found here: https://www.fda.gov/tobacco-products/youth-and-tobacco/youth-tobacco-use-results-national-youth-tobacco-survey">https://www.fda.gov/tobacco-p...
The link to the JAMA article can be found here: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2755265">https://jamanetwork.com/journals/...
If you include all "frequent" e-cigarette users (+20 days/month), the totals rise to 1.4 million and 216,000, respectively. That& #39;s a significant phenomenon, but it hardly qualifies as "a whole generation of young people who are addicted to these products." https://reason.com/2019/11/06/as-the-fda-prepares-to-ban-flavored-e-cigarettes-the-governments-own-data-contradict-wild-claims-about-adolescent-nicotine-addiction/">https://reason.com/2019/11/0...
Contrast these numbers to the prevalence of nicotine vaping among adults (+13 million) or perhaps even more importantly the missed opportunity of converting current smokers (34 million) and the case for preserving access to nearly all e-cigarettes on the market is quite strong.
