(Missourinet) – More than 1,000 events took place Wednesday worldwide, including in Missouri, to rally against tobacco use, especially among youth.

According to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, 11% of Missouri’s high school students smoke. According to the organization, from 2011 to 2015, e-cigarette use among high school students jumped from 1.5% to 16% nationwide, and more kids use e-cigarettes than regular cigarettes.

Ginny Chadwick was with a group at the state capitol Wednesday and said tobacco companies are spending big money to market things like electronic cigarettes to kids.

“When we look specifically at what youth are using, it’s not traditional cigarettes. That is still declining,” Chadwick said. “It is through e-cigarettes that our youth use rates are increasing overall because youth are entering the marketing through e-cigarettes. Once they pick up one product, they’re much more likely to be dual users.”

E-cigarettes and cigars are sold in a wide assortment of candy and fruit flavors, such as gummy bear, cotton candy and fruit punch.

“Youth, once they pick up one product, they’re much more likely to transition. They’re still getting hooked on nicotine,” Chadwick said. “That’s the thing the e-cigarette industry will often tell you is that they’re water vapor. They’re not harmful.”

Are e-cigarettes as harmful as traditional tobacco products?

“They don’t cause as much harm (as traditional tobacco products),” Chadwick said. “But if a poisonous snake is deadly, is a less poisonous snake that’s still deadly actually harmful? Yes.”

Missouri has the lowest tobacco tax in the nation at 17 cents per pack of cigarettes.

“We have one of the highest youth use rates. So, 14.9% of our youth are taking up tobacco products. Where if you compare us to surrounding states, we are much higher,” Chadwick said.

Chadwick says the national youth use rate is about 13.9%.