Health · Public Health & Disease · 6 hrs ago
Teen girls in the US now vape more regularly than boys
Girls aged 15 to 17 in the US now vape more regularly than boys.
In 2024, 7.8% of girls in that age group vaped regularly, compared with 4.6% of boys.
Boys had higher rates through 2018, but the pattern began to reverse in 2021 and the gap among older teens has widened since.
The figures come from eight rounds of a national survey of 12- to 17-year-olds, and count only teens who said they used e-cigarettes fairly regularly in the past 30 days.
The shift challenges assumptions that girls face less risk of vaping, while rates among girls aged 12 to 14 have also been higher than boys’ in most survey rounds since 2021.
Regular cigarette smoking among all teens fell from 1.6% in the first survey round to 0.2% in 2024.
Girls aged 15 to 17 in the United States were more likely than boys of the same age to vape regularly in 2024.
The survey analysis found that 7.8% of girls in this age group vaped regularly, compared with 4.6% of boys.
The reversal began in 2021, after boys had vaped more than girls through 2018.
Among girls aged 12 to 14, the rate reached 2.6% in 2023 before falling to 1.5% in 2024.
The analysis also found that regular cigarette smoking among 12- to 17-year-olds fell from 1.6% in the first survey round to 0.2% in 2024.
- Who
- Girls aged 15 to 17 in the United States. The analysis also compared their vaping rates with boys of the same age.
- What
- A study found that girls were more likely than boys to vape regularly in 2024.
- When
- The analysis covered survey data from late 2014 through 2024. The reversal began in 2021.
- Where
- United States.
- Why
- Not stated.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
The first round of the youth survey found regular vaping among 3.1% of boys and 1.9% of girls aged 15 to 17.
Regular vaping among older boys reached 8.5%, while the rate among older girls was 8.2%.
The pattern reversed, with older girls’ vaping rates rising above those of boys.
Regular vaping among girls aged 12 to 14 reached 2.6%.
Regular vaping among 15- to 17-year-old girls was 7.8%, compared with 4.6% of boys; the rate among girls aged 12 to 14 was 1.5%.
- Older girls vaping regularly in 2024
- 7.8%
- Older boys vaping regularly in 2024
- 4.6%
- Girls aged 12 to 14 vaping regularly in 2023
- 2.6%
- Girls aged 12 to 14 vaping regularly in 2024
- 1.5%
- Regular smoking among 12- to 17-year-olds in 2024
- 0.2%
What people are saying
Many parents are likely to be working from the assumption that their daughters are at less risk of using e-cigarettes, but we are seeing the opposite, and the gap is as wide as it has ever been
These aren’t youth who simply tried vaping once or twice. We’re talking about adolescents who are regularly using e-cigarettes now.
Even though the rate dropped from 2023 to 2024, it’s still high