US Young Adult Vaping, Cannabis Use Hit Record Highs in 2025: Survey

Vaping and cannabis use among young adults in the U.S. hit record highs in 2025, according to a new national survey from the University of Michigan. The annual Monitoring the Future survey, supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), found that 19% of young adults aged 19 to 30 reported using nicotine vapes in the past 30 days — the highest level since the question was first added in 2017 and more than triple the rate recorded then. Cannabis use also remained near its peak: 29% of young adults said they had used the drug in the past month, just below the all-time high of 30% set the previous year.

A record 12% reported daily cannabis use. The survey gathers data from about 20,000 Americans aged 19 to 65. Nora Volkow, director of NIH's National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), described this year's report as presenting a mixed picture of substance use trends in the U.S. "It is reassuring to continue to see relatively low smoking rates and a continuing decline in alcohol use among adults, Volkow said in a press release. "At the same time, rising rates of cannabis, nicotine, and certain other drug use warrant attention.