Smoking is the leading cause of death and preventable disease in Massachusetts, leading to more than 9,300 deaths per year in the state.
While overall tobacco use in Massachusetts is at an all-time low, e-cigarettes and vaping disproportionately affect the state’s young people. Around 7% of Massachusetts adults 18 to 24 use tobacco, but this number does not reflect e-cigarettes, which may be more prevalent among this age group. More alarmingly, more than 20% of high school students reported using e-cigarettes in the state’s 2017 Youth Risk Behavior Survey.