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Researchers from the University of California San Diego Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science have found that high-nicotine e-cigarette use rose sharply among young adults between 2017 and 2022 and was associated with increased nicotine dependence and more persistent vaping.

The study, published on Oct. 20, 2026, in the journal Tobacco Control, found that by 2022, nearly half (49.2%) of young adults who vaped daily were using e-cigarettes containing at least 4% nicotine—considered high-nicotine products.

Among daily vapers ages 55 and older, just 4.5% were using products with that level of nicotine. Overall, among people who vaped in 2022, the odds of using a high-nicotine e-cigarette were 12 times higher for 18- to 24-year-olds than for adults ages 55 and older.

"The Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) authorization of these products was based in part on the expectation that the benefits to adults who smoke would outweigh the risks of creating new nicotine dependence among young people," said John P. Pierce, senior author and professor at the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health.

"Our findings suggest that this balance needs to be reassessed. Young adults are disproportionately choosing high-nicotine products, including within the same brands used by older adults, and that use is associated with substantially greater nicotine dependence."

S. The analysis included surveys conducted in 2017, 2019, 2021 and 2022, as well as longitudinal data from 2,356 adults who vaped in 2019 and whose behaviors were tracked through 2022.

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