This story is free to read.

Report: High school smoking fell as e-cigarette use boomed

This Wednesday, April 23, 2014 photo shows electronic cigarettes and accessories displayed at a store in Chicago. For the first time, a government survey released on Thursday, April 16, 2015 says U.S. teen cigarette smoking fell below 10 percent, but dramatic increases in teens puffing electronic cigarettes and hookahs offset the use of traditional nicotine products like cigarettes, cigars, pipes, and chewing tobacco. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh) This Wednesday, April 23, 2014 photo shows electronic cigarettes and accessories displayed at a store in Chicago. For the first time, a government survey released on Thursday, April 16, 2015 says U.S. teen cigarette smoking fell below 10 percent, but dramatic increases in teens puffing electronic cigarettes and hookahs offset the use of traditional nicotine products like cigarettes, cigars, pipes, and chewing tobacco. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

By Associated Press April 16, 2015 1 min read

NEW YORK (AP) – A new government report shows smoking by teens hit a new low last year while the popularity of electronic cigarettes and water pipes boomed.

Teen use of e-cigarettes tripled in one year – to more than 13 percent. About 9 percent of high schools students said they had tried hookahs.

But smoking of traditional cigarettes plummeted to about 9 percent.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the report Thursday. It’s based on a national survey of about 22,000 students at middle schools and high schools, both public and private.

A government-funded study released in December found similar trends.

___

Online:

CDC report: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr