While cigarette use has declined in New Mexico, the state health department reported on Friday that residents are vaping more, “trading one public health risk for another,” according to a news release.
Between 2022 and 2024, the percentage of New Mexico adults smoking cigarettes dropped from 15% to 11.7%, while the use of e-cigarettes increased from 7.3% to 8.2% during the same time period.
However, both cigarette and vaping use have dropped among high school students during recent years: from 8.3% in 2019 to 3.3% in 2023 for cigarettes, and from 33.4% to 18.8% in the same time period for e-cigarettes. Middle school students’ smoking of e-cigarette use also dropped from 15.1% in 2019 to state health officials characterized as a “record low” of 10.4% in 2023.
“New Mexicans have made progress quitting smoking, but it remains a significant public health problem,” NMDOH’s Nicotine Use Prevention and Control office Director Anthony Garcia said in a statement. “More people are vaping, especially youth, because it’s sold as a safer choice to cigarettes, but e-cigarettes contain toxic chemicals linked to cancer along with brain, cardiovascular, and respiratory harm.”
The agency cited data from the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids that says tobacco use kills approximately 2,600 New Mexicans each year and causes close to 24% of cancer deaths in the state.
State lawmakers on the interim Tobacco Settlement Revenue Oversight Committee met last week to discuss more comprehensive strategies for tackling youth nicotine use. In March, state Attorney General Raúl Torrez announced a lawsuit against Circle K and other retailers that sell vapes, accusing them of selling vapes in colorful packaging to subliminally advertise to children.
The health department cited services to help quit that are available by calling 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669) or 1-855-DEJELO-YA (1-855-335-3569). Services are available online at QuitNowNM.org or DejeloYaNM.org.