The latest Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), delivers great news for tobacco control advocates: adult smoking prevalence has reached its lowest level in 60 years. Despite this major public health victory, the CDC—along with Bloomberg-backed organizations—continues to raise alarms over increasing adult e-cigarette use, even though many adults turn to these products as a tool to quit smoking.
This report is yet another example of data being twisted to demonize harm reduction. Policymakers must remain cautious of both Bloomberg-funded initiatives and taxpayer-supported agencies that perpetuate misinformation regarding tobacco harm reduction (THR) products.
Using data from the National Health Interview Survey, CDC researchers found that adult cigarette smoking declined by an impressive 72.6 percent, from 42.4 percent of adults smoking in 1965 to just 11.6 percent in 2022. While this is an undeniable public health success, the CDC chose to focus on smoking trends between 2017 and 2023 to compare e-cigarette use with combustible cigarette use.
Between 2017 and 2023, the prevalence of exclusive cigarette smoking declined by 26.7 percent, from 10.8 percent of adults in 2017, to 7.9 percent in 2023. This translates to 6.8 million fewer adults smoking cigarettes exclusively. Meanwhile, exclusive e-cigarette use increased by 241.7 percent, from 1.2 percent in 2017, to 4.1 percent in 2023 – adding 7.3 million adults to the ranks of exclusive vapers.
Rather than celebrate this shift away from the most harmful tobacco product—combustible cigarettes—the CDC downplays the success by claiming that “current tobacco product use among adults has not changed since 2017.” This assertion stems from the agency’s classification of e-cigarettes as tobacco products, despite the fact that they contain no tobacco leaf. The CDC also calls for Bloomberg-endorsed policies such as tax hikes and smoke-free policies to curb tobacco use—including nicotine use altogether.
Technically, e-cigarettes fall under the FDA’s tobacco regulatory authority due to a 2011 court ruling and 2016 deeming regulations. However, conflating e-cigarettes with combustible tobacco products misrepresents their harm reduction potential. Millions of adults rely on these products to stay smoke-free, yet public health authorities continue to obscure this reality.
Former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb recognized the need for a regulatory framework that conveys the continuum of risk among tobacco products. While nicotine is addictive, it is not the primary cause of smoking-related harm. The danger lies in the burning of tobacco (and hundreds of ingredients), which releases a smoking containing thousands of harmful chemicals. Even the WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer has determined that nicotine does not cause cancer.
On the risk spectrum, combustible cigarettes are the most harmful, while FDA-approved nicotine replacement therapies (NRTs) are the least. E-cigarettes are approximately 95 percent less harmful than smoking, and oral nicotine pouches pose similar risks to traditional NRTs. Yet, public misinformation persists: a 2022 study found that 61.2 percent of adult smokers wrongly believed that nicotine causes cancer or were unsure.
The CDC’s skepticism toward e-cigarettes is nothing new. As early as 2009, the agency participated in teleconferenceswith other federal agencies to sound alarms about vaping. By 2014, then-CDC Director Tom Frieden dismissed reports of e-cigarettes aiding smoking cessation, instead warning about a “re-glamorization of smoking.”
However, the science contradicts this stance. A 2019 randomized trial found that e-cigarettes were twice as effective as traditional nicotine replacement therapies in helping smokers quit. Health agencies in Canada, the UK, and New Zealand acknowledge the role of vaping as a cessation tool.
In 2019, the CDC’s mishandling of vaping-related lung injuries further fueled misinformation. These cases were overwhelmingly linked to illicit THC vaping products, not legally sold nicotine e-cigarettes. Yet, the CDC took nearly six months to clarify this distinction—by which time public perception had been significantly damaged.
The CDC’s continued misinformation campaign is unsurprising given billionaire Michael Bloomberg’s influence. Bloomberg has funneled hundreds of millions into the CDC Foundation, and former CDC Director Frieden now leads Resolve to Save Lives, an initiative backed by Bloomberg’s Vital Strategies. This financial entanglement raises serious concerns about objectivity in public health policy.
Despite CDC opposition, the data remains clear: adult smoking rates continue to decline, youth cigarette use is nearly nonexistent, and youth vaping has fallen since its 2019 peak. The widespread availability of e-cigarettes has led to significant reductions in cigarette sales, further demonstrating the effectiveness of harm reduction.
Tobacco harm reduction is working here in Tennessee where I write from and throughout America—whether public health agencies and misguided politicians choose to acknowledge it or not.
Jeffrey Barry is a small business owner / operator, with retail vape stores in New York and Tennessee and Pennsylvania. He previously had businesses in New York State, which he shuttered due to the state’s enacting of a flavored product ban.
