Virginia Youth Vaping Nearly Halves as State Enforces Restrictive Vape Directory

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Key Points:

• Survey Overview: Newly released 2025 Virginia Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) results show youth cigarette smoking remains near historic lows, while e-cigarette use has declined significantly since peaking in 2019.

• Youth Smoking Near Historic Lows: In 2025, only 3.3 percent of Virginia high school students currently smoked combustible cigarettes, a 40 percent decline from 5.5 percent in 2019. However, smoking increased slightly from 2 percent in 2023.

• Frequent Youth Smoking Remains Rare: Only 0.9 percent of Virginia high school students reported smoking cigarettes on 20 or more days during the preceding month.

• Youth Vaping Nearly Halves: Current e-cigarette use among Virginia high school students declined 46.2 percent between 2019 and 2025, falling to 10.7 percent.

• Frequent and Daily Vaping Declines: In 2025, only 4 percent of Virginia high school students reported frequent vaping, while 3.8 percent reported daily use. Between 2019 and 2025, frequent vaping declined by 36.5 percent and daily use decreased by 9.5 percent.

• Adult Vaping Remains Widespread: According to the 2025 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), 6.8 percent of Virginia adults currently used e-cigarettes, representing approximately 477,347 individuals.

• Long-Term Adult Vaping Increases: Between 2016 and 2025, adult vaping prevalence increased 38.8 percent, from 4.9 percent to 6.8 percent, although it declined slightly from 7.2 percent in 2024.

• Adult Smoking Reaches Historic Low: In 2025, only 10.1 percent of Virginia adults currently smoked combustible cigarettes, representing approximately 709,000 individuals and the lowest smoking rate recorded by the BRFSS.

• Adult Smoking Falls Sharply: Between 2016 and 2025, adult smoking prevalence declined 34 percent, from 15.3 percent to 10.1 percent, while adult vaping increased by 38.8 percent.

• Fewer Adult Smokers: Between 2024 and 2025, Virginia's adult smoking rate declined from 11.1 percent to 10.1 percent, representing an estimated 62,233 fewer adult smokers in a single year.

• Economic Burden of Smoking: WalletHub estimated that combustible cigarette smoking carried an annual economic cost of $75,478 per Virginia smoker in 2025, including approximately $3,782 in health care costs.

• Potential Economic Benefits: Applying WalletHub's estimates to Virginia's approximately 62,233 fewer adult smokers suggests $4.7 billion in associated annual economic costs, including $235.4 million in health care expenditures. These estimates are illustrative and should not be interpreted as documented or immediately realized savings.

• Vapor Product Directory Enforcement: Virginia began enforcing its Liquid Nicotine and Nicotine Vapor Product Directory on April 1, 2026, restricting retail sales to products that satisfy the state's certification and eligibility requirements.

• FDA Regulatory Requirements: To qualify for Virginia's directory, manufacturers must certify that products meet applicable federal regulatory conditions, including FDA marketing authorization, certain qualifying pending premarket tobacco product applications (PMTAs), or qualifying legacy-product provisions.

• Manufacturer Certification Fees Increase: Under Virginia's 2026 amendments, initial product certification fees increased 150 percent, from $2,000 to $5,000 per product, while annual recertification fees increased 400 percent, from $500 to $2,500 per product.

• Substantial Manufacturer Costs: A manufacturer seeking to certify 100 vapor products would face $500,000 in initial certification fees, followed by $250,000 annually to maintain those listings.

• Small Business Concerns: Virginia's directory requirements could disproportionately burden independent manufacturers and specialty vape retailers, particularly businesses offering numerous e-liquid flavors, nicotine strengths, and open-system products.

• Adult Harm Reduction Implications: With approximately 477,347 Virginia adults currently using e-cigarettes, restrictions on product availability could limit access to potentially lower-risk alternatives for adults who smoke or have already switched away from combustible cigarettes.

• Smoking and Vaping Trends: Virginia's declining youth vaping rates and historically low adult smoking prevalence are consistent with broader tobacco harm reduction trends, although population-level data alone cannot establish that increased vaping caused reductions in smoking.

• Policy Implications: Virginia's latest youth and adult tobacco-use data provide important context for evaluating whether the state's vapor product directory, substantial certification fees, and restrictions on product availability deliver additional public health benefits while accounting for potential consequences for adult consumers and small businesses.

• Bottom Line: Virginia youth vaping has nearly halved since 2019, youth cigarette smoking remains near historic lows, and adult smoking has reached its lowest recorded level. Meanwhile, nearly half a million adults use e-cigarettes. As Virginia enforces increasingly costly vapor product directory requirements, policymakers should evaluate whether these restrictions meaningfully improve youth protection without unnecessarily limiting adult access to lower-risk alternatives or undermining progress in reducing combustible cigarette smoking.

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released the results of the 2025 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) for Virginia high school students. The biennial survey assesses a variety of youth health-risk behaviors, ranging from dietary habits and physical activity to mental health and substance use.

There is promising news for policymakers concerned with youth tobacco and nicotine use: traditional cigarette smoking among Virginia high school students remains near historic lows, while e-cigarette use has declined dramatically since peaking in 2019.

These findings are particularly significant as the Commonwealth has implemented a restrictive vapor product directory that threatens to limit access to tobacco harm reduction products for hundreds of thousands of Virginia adults.

According to the YRBS, in 2025, only 3.3 percent of Virginia high school students reported current use of combustible cigarettes. Current use is defined as having used the product on at least one occasion in the 30 days preceding the survey. Although this represents a slight increase from 2021 and 2023, when 2.8 percent and 2 percent of students, respectively, reported current smoking, cigarette use remains substantially below historical levels.

In 2019, 5.5 percent of Virginia high school students were current smokers. Between 2019 and 2025, the percentage of students reporting current cigarette use declined by 40 percent. Further, frequent and daily cigarette smoking remain exceedingly rare, with only 0.9 percent of students reporting smoking on 20 or more days during the preceding month.

In recent years, novel nicotine products, including electronic cigarettes, have emerged as alternatives to combustible tobacco products while facing increasing scrutiny from policymakers nationwide. Similar to national trends, youth vaping in Virginia appears to have peaked in 2019 and has declined significantly in subsequent years.

According to the 2025 YRBS, 10.7 percent of Virginia high school students reported current e-cigarette use, while 4 percent reported frequent use, defined as vaping on 20 or more days in the preceding month. Only 3.8 percent reported daily e-cigarette use.

Between 2019 and 2025, the percentage of Virginia high school students reporting current e-cigarette use declined by 46.2 percent, nearly halving over the six-year period. Frequent vaping declined by 36.5 percent, while daily use decreased by 9.5 percent.

While youth use of any age-restricted nicotine or tobacco product warrants policymakers' attention, these findings underscore the importance of distinguishing between experimentation, occasional use, and frequent or daily consumption. In recent years, heightened concerns surrounding youth vaping have contributed to increasingly restrictive policies that can also limit adult access to smoke-free alternatives, including products that have received marketing authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Importantly, the latest youth data should be considered alongside trends in adult smoking and vaping, particularly as policymakers evaluate the potential public health consequences of restricting access to alternative nicotine products.

The CDC annually monitors various health-related behaviors among American adults through its Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). According to the 2025 BRFSS, 6.8 percent of Virginia adults aged 18 years or older reported current e-cigarette use, representing approximately 477,347 adults.

This was a slight decrease from 2024, when 7.2 percent of Virginia adults reported vaping. However, compared to 2016, when 4.9 percent of adults were current e-cigarette users, adult vaping prevalence has increased by 38.8 percent.

The growing prevalence of e-cigarette use over the past decade has also coincided with substantial declines in combustible cigarette smoking.

In 2025, only 10.1 percent of Virginia adults reported current cigarette smoking, the lowest rate recorded by the BRFSS and representing approximately 709,000 adults.

Between 2016 and 2025, the percentage of Virginia adults who were current smokers declined by 34 percent, falling from 15.3 percent to 10.1 percent. During the same period, adult e-cigarette use increased by 38.8 percent, from 4.9 percent to 6.8 percent.

Although population-level trends alone cannot establish a causal relationship between increased vaping and declining smoking, these findings are consistent with the growing body of evidence recognizing electronic cigarettes as a potentially effective alternative for adults who smoke combustible cigarettes.

The continued decline in smoking also carries significant economic implications.

According to WalletHub, the estimated annual economic cost associated with smoking for an individual smoker in Virginia was $75,478 in 2025, including approximately $3,782 in health care costs. These estimates incorporate direct and indirect costs associated with smoking.

Between 2024 and 2025, adult smoking prevalence declined by approximately 9 percent, falling from 11.1 percent to 10.1 percent. Based on BRFSS population estimates, this represents approximately 62,233 fewer adult smokers.

Applying WalletHub's estimated annual costs to this reduction yields approximately $4.7 billion in potential avoided economic costs, including $235.4 million in estimated health care costs. While these figures illustrate the substantial economic burden associated with smoking, they should not be interpreted as immediate or realized savings, as smoking-related health care expenditures and other economic costs often accumulate over time.

Nevertheless, the continued decline in cigarette smoking represents an important public health achievement and reinforces the need for policies that encourage adults who smoke to transition away from combustible tobacco products.

These findings are particularly relevant as Virginia has joined several other states in implementing sweeping restrictions on the sale of electronic cigarettes through a state-maintained vapor product directory.

Administered by the Virginia Office of the Attorney General, the Commonwealth's Liquid Nicotine and Nicotine Vapor Product Directory identifies products that manufacturers have certified as meeting the state's eligibility requirements for lawful sale.

To qualify, manufacturers must certify that their products satisfy applicable federal regulatory conditions. These include products that have received FDA marketing authorization, certain products with qualifying pending premarket tobacco product applications (PMTAs), and qualifying legacy products marketed in the United States before August 8, 2016, subject to the statute's additional documentation requirements.

The directory was enacted in 2024, with manufacturer registration beginning in July 2025 and an initial certification deadline of December 31, 2025. Following legal challenges, enforcement of the directory began on April 1, 2026.

Beyond restricting the products available for sale, Virginia's directory imposes significant financial burdens on manufacturers, burdens that have increased substantially under subsequent legislative amendments.

Prior to October 1, 2026, manufacturers were required to pay an initial certification fee of $2,000 per product and an annual recertification fee of $500 per product.

Under the 2026 amendments, those fees increased dramatically. Initial certification now costs $5,000 per product, while annual recertification costs $2,500 per product. These changes represent increases of 150 percent and 400 percent, respectively.

For manufacturers offering numerous e-liquid flavors, nicotine strengths, and device configurations, these costs can quickly become prohibitive. A manufacturer seeking to certify 100 products would face $500,000 in initial certification fees and an additional $250,000 annually to maintain those listings.

Such requirements may disproportionately burden smaller, independent manufacturers and specialty vape shops that traditionally offer a wider selection of open-system products and e-liquids. They may also discourage product innovation, reduce consumer choice, and further consolidate the marketplace among manufacturers with the financial resources necessary to navigate overlapping state and federal regulatory requirements.

These consequences are especially concerning given that hundreds of thousands of Virginia adults currently use electronic cigarettes, while combustible cigarette smoking remains responsible for substantial preventable disease and economic costs.

Electronic cigarettes are not risk-free, nor are they appropriate for youth or adults who do not use tobacco. However, a growing body of scientific evidence supports their potential role in helping adults transition away from combustible cigarettes. Moreover, Virginia's own population-level data demonstrate that youth vaping has declined substantially since 2019, while youth smoking remains near historic lows and adult smoking has continued its long-term decline.

There is little evidence in these survey trends to suggest that the introduction of e-cigarettes has led to a sustained resurgence in youth cigarette smoking. Rather, the findings raise important questions about whether increasingly restrictive vapor product policies are proportionate to current patterns of youth use and whether they adequately consider the needs of adults who smoke.

Virginia lawmakers should revisit the Commonwealth's vapor product directory and evaluate whether its substantial certification costs and restrictions on product availability advance public health or inadvertently undermine tobacco harm reduction. With youth vaping declining and adult smoking at historic lows, policymakers should prioritize evidence-based approaches that prevent youth access without unnecessarily limiting access to potentially less harmful alternatives for adults. The ultimate measure of successful tobacco policy should not be how many products are removed from store shelves, but whether fewer Virginians continue to smoke combustible cigarettes.

Nothing in this analysis is intended to influence the passage of legislation, and it does not necessarily represent the views of Tobacco Harm Reduction 101.