If experimentation with electronic cigarettes decreases among middle school students, it increases (as does daily use) among high school students, especially among girls and particularly in vocational high schools. It is also more and more often consumed in addition to classic cigarettes – or even before any experimentation with the latter.
The OFDT is now presenting the evolution of electronic cigarette use (also including puffs, see box) by secondary school students between 2014 and 2024. The EnCLASS 2024 survey also makes it possible to compare these uses among high school students depending on whether they are in general and technological high schools (LEGT) or in vocational high schools (LP) and to present the multiple uses of electronic cigarettes and tobacco cigarettes.
High schools, especially professional, more concerned
For around fifteen years (see EnClass 2024 results), smoking has declined considerably among middle and high school students. The uses of electronic cigarettes follow a completely different trend.
Although between 2014 and 2024, the share of middle school students having experimented with electronic cigarettes fell from 26.8% to 19.0%, it increased from 35.1% to 46.0% among high school students between 2015 and 2024 and more among girls than among boys (respectively 48.7% and 43.2%). We also observe a clear difference between LEGT and LP: between 2015 and 2024, the share of high school students having experimented with electronic cigarettes increased from 34.2% to 41.5% in LEGT, but
from 36.8% to 58.7% in LPs, an increase approximately three times greater for the latter.
Concerning daily use, assessed only among high school students, it increased from 2.8% in 2018 to 6.8% in 2024, equivalently among girls and boys, but also more in LP than in LEGT (respectively 11.1% against 5.3% in 2024).
Puffs : une part importante de l’expérimentation de la cigarette électronique
Arrivées sur le marché français en septembre 2021, les cigarettes électroniques jetables, communément appelées « puffs », ont été interdites en février 2025. Les résultats présentés ici forment donc une photographie pré-interdiction. En 2024, 16,6 % des collégiens et 39,4 % des lycéens avaient déjà expérimenté une « puff », soit respectivement 87,5 % et 85,5 % des expérimentateurs de cigarette électronique. De surcroît, 11,5 % des collégiens et 16,6 % des lycéens ont expérimenté une « puff » mais n’ont jamais utilisé de cigarette électronique rechargeable.
When the electronic cigarette is the only cigarette
If almost all adolescents who smoked tobacco in 2024 have also tried electronic cigarettes, the proportion of electronic cigarette experimenters who have never smoked tobacco is increasingly high. In addition, high school students who experimented with both tobacco cigarettes and electronic cigarettes more often tested electronic cigarettes first in 2024 than in 2018 (39.6% versus 28.9%).
For its part, daily consumption of electronic cigarettes alone increases from 0.8% in 2018 to 4.0% in 2024, while daily smoking alone declines significantly, going from 15.5% of high school students in 2018 to 2.9% in 2024.
The use of electronic cigarettes in France is not a substitute for tobacco cigarettes, but increasingly a complementary or even exclusive product, a sign of marketing that targets young people.
Evolution of vaping among middle and high school students between 2014 and 2024, OFDT, Trends n° 172avril 2026
