Washington Youth Tobacco Use Near Record Lows as Adults Continue Switching to Smoke-Free Alternatives

---

Key Points:

• Youth Tobacco Use at Historic Lows: Results from the 2025 Washington Healthy Youth Survey show that youth smoking and vaping in the Evergreen State remain near record lows, continuing multi-year downward trends.

• Comprehensive Statewide Survey: The Healthy Youth Survey includes approximately 200,000 Washington students in grades 6–12 and serves as one of the state’s most important youth tobacco and nicotine surveillance tools.

• Critical Data Source: Because Washington does not participate in the CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey, the Healthy Youth Survey remains a primary source of youth nicotine use data for policymakers.

• Youth Smoking Continues to Fall: In 2025, only 10.3 percent of Washington youth reported ever trying a cigarette, a 42.4 percent decline since 2018. Current smoking fell by 58.1 percent over the same period, with less than 1 percent reporting daily smoking.

• Youth Vaping Declines Sharply: Current youth vaping declined by 63.1 percent between 2018 and 2025, falling from 16.1 percent to just 5.9 percent. Ever-use declined by 47.9 percent during the same period.

• Recent Declines Continue: Between 2023 and 2025 alone, youth ever-use of e-cigarettes fell by 19.5 percent while current vaping declined another 15.7 percent.

• Other Nicotine Product Use Remains Low: In 2025, only 3 percent of Washington youth reported current use of chewing tobacco, snuff, or oral nicotine products, while just 1.1 percent reported cigar use.

• Restrictions Continue Despite Declines: The findings come after years of legislative proposals aimed at restricting tobacco harm reduction products, including flavored vape bans, disposable vape bans, nicotine limits, and higher taxes.

• Aggressive Tax Proposals Failed: Senate Bill 6129, introduced during the 2026 legislative session, proposed steep new taxes on flavored nicotine products and major cigarette tax increases but ultimately failed to pass.

• Adult Vaping Continues to Grow: In 2024, approximately 479,039 Washington adults (7.6 percent) were current e-cigarette users, representing a 5.6 percent increase from 2023 and more than 32,000 additional adult vapers in one year.

• Smoking Declines Coincide with Vaping Growth: Between 2016 and 2024, adult vaping increased by 43.4 percent while adult smoking declined by 43.6 percent, representing nearly 295,000 fewer adult smokers.

• Harm Reduction Recognized: The FDA has authorized dozens of e-cigarette and oral nicotine products after determining they are “appropriate for the protection of public health” and pose significantly fewer risks than combustible cigarettes.

• Policy Should Reflect Current Trends: Youth smoking and vaping continue to decline in Washington while adult use of smoke-free alternatives rises alongside historic declines in smoking.

• Bottom Line: Washington lawmakers should avoid pursuing restrictive policies based on outdated narratives and instead recognize the role tobacco harm reduction products play in helping adults move away from combustible cigarettes.

---

Results from the 2025 Washington Healthy Youth Survey indicate that youth tobacco use in the Evergreen State remains at historically low levels, while youth e-cigarette use continues to decline.

The biennial survey is a collaboration between the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the Department of Health, the Health Care Authority’s Division of Behavioral Health and Recovery, and the Liquor and Cannabis Board. Approximately 200,000 Washington students in grades 6 through 12 participate in the survey, which asks questions related to alcohol, tobacco and nicotine use, mental health, nutrition, sexual behaviors, and other health indicators.

The survey is particularly valuable for policymakers because Washington State does not participate in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey. As such, the Healthy Youth Survey remains one of the most comprehensive sources of youth tobacco and nicotine use data available to lawmakers considering legislation impacting adult-restricted consumer products.

In 2025, only 10.3 percent of Washington youth in grades 6 through 12 reported ever trying a combustible cigarette, representing a 42.4 percent decline from 2018, when 17.8 percent had ever smoked a cigarette. Current cigarette smoking – defined as smoking on at least one occasion in the previous 30 days – also remained at record lows. Just 1.8 percent of youth reported current cigarette smoking in 2025, a 58.1 percent decrease from 2018. Additionally, less than 1 percent of youth reported smoking cigarettes daily, a 48 percent decline over the same period.

In recent years, Washington lawmakers have increasingly focused their attention on smoke-free alternatives, particularly e-cigarettes. Similar to national trends, youth vaping in Washington peaked in the late 2010s and has steadily declined in recent years.

In 2025, only 17.5 percent of Washington youth reported ever trying an e-cigarette, while 5.9 percent were classified as current users. This represents a 47.9 percent decline in ever-use since 2018, when 33.6 percent of youth had ever tried an e-cigarette. Current vaping declined even more significantly, falling by 63.1 percent from 16.1 percent in 2018 to 5.9 percent in 2025.

More importantly, youth vaping has continued to decline in recent years. Between 2023 and 2025, ever-use of e-cigarettes fell by 19.5 percent, while current vaping declined by 15.7 percent.

Use of other tobacco and nicotine products also remains low among Washington youth. In 2025, only 3 percent of students reported current use of chewing tobacco, snuff, or oral nicotine products, a slight decline from 2023. Additionally, just 1.1 percent of youth reported current cigar use.

These findings are notable given the numerous legislative proposals introduced in recent years seeking to restrict access to tobacco harm reduction products in Washington State.

In 2019, Washington lawmakers enacted a statewide vapor products tax. In 2020, Senate Bill 6254 proposed sweeping restrictions on vapor products, including limiting flavored products to adult-only stores, banning disposable vapor products, increasing taxes on flavored products, and imposing nicotine concentration limits. Although the measure ultimately failed, lawmakers have continued introducing legislation seeking to ban flavored vapor and tobacco products.

Most recently, Senate Bill 6129 proposed additional taxes on flavored nicotine products while dramatically increasing the state’s cigarette excise tax. Although the legislation failed to pass during the 2026 legislative session, it represented one of the most aggressive nicotine tax proposals introduced in the state to date.

Policymakers should consider the continued decline in youth vaping alongside the growing number of Washington adults using less harmful smoke-free alternatives. Many adult e-cigarette users are former smokers who have transitioned away from combustible cigarettes.

According to the CDC’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, approximately 479,039 Washington adults – or 7.6 percent of the adult population – were current e-cigarette users in 2024. This represents a 5.6 percent increase from 2023, when 7.2 percent of adults reported current vaping. In total, there were an estimated 32,613 additional adult e-cigarette users in 2024 compared to the previous year.

Importantly, the rise in adult e-cigarette use has coincided with substantial declines in smoking. In 2016, only 5.3 percent of Washington adults were current e-cigarette users. Between 2016 and 2024, adult vaping increased by 43.4 percent, representing an additional 178,790 adult e-cigarette users. Over the same period, adult smoking declined by 43.6 percent, representing 295,162 fewer adult smokers.

Despite persistent rhetoric surrounding vaping products, e-cigarettes and other novel nicotine products are tobacco harm reduction tools that have helped millions of American adults quit smoking and remain smoke-free. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has authorized the sale of dozens of e-cigarette and oral nicotine products after determining they are “appropriate for the protection of public health” and pose significantly fewer risks than combustible cigarettes.

As lawmakers prepare for future legislative sessions, it is imperative that policy decisions reflect current data rather than outdated narratives. Youth vaping and smoking continue to decline in Washington State, while increasing use of smoke-free alternatives among adults coincides with historic declines in cigarette smoking. Policymakers should refrain from pursuing policies that may reduce adult access to less harmful alternatives to combustible tobacco products.

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.