Long Islanders smoke less

A New York State Health Department study found that e-cigarette use by youth jumped by 160 percent from 2014 to 2018.

While the report does not explore Long Island’s e-cigarette use in detail, we can explore it ourselves by going into the Expanded Behavioral Risk Surveillance System (EBRFSS) data.

Smoking as a whole

Comparatively as a region, we average higher than New York City but lower than the state’s average.

But perhaps what is slightly more concerning is that while both the state average and New York City itself have dropped noticeably from 2014 to 2016, the percentage of Long Island smokers barely changed at all.

On the other hand, the percentage of e-cigarette smokers on Long Island is much lower than both New York City and the state.

But as the EBRFSS has only started asking and tracking e-cigarette usage, a clear pattern or trend for Long Island might not be show itself for a few more years.

The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) found that e-cigarette use in high school students has increased by 78 percent from 2017 to 2018.

Data from CDC’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS)