Smoking Rates Among High School Students Decline Nearly 18% In 2002.

The American Legacy Foundation released the results of the 2002 National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS 2002), which found that prevalence of current smoking among high school students declined about 18 percent, from 28.0 percent in 2000 to 22.9 percent in 2002. The survey found no significant decrease in prevalence of cigarette smoking among middle school youth during the same period. These data reflect a continuation of the downward trend noted since 1997 in the Monitoring the Future (MTF) and Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS). The NYTS 2002 results were published in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), a publication of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The National Youth Tobacco Survey, conducted by the American Legacy Foundation, is designed to provide prevalence estimates for cigarettes, cigars, smokeless tobacco, pipes, bidis and kreteks (clove cigarettes) among middle school and high school students in the United States. The NYTS is the only comprehensive national study that measures tobacco use among this
demographic.

Males and females are equally likely to smoke cigarettes. The NYTS 2002 found that among both age groups, males were more likely than females to use all tobacco products except for cigarettes. Among middle school students there was no difference in cigarette smoking by race/ethnicity, but among high school students, White students smoked cigarettes at a higher rate than Black, Hispanic or Asian students. Asian high school students were less likely to use cigars than other youth. White youth were more likely to use smokeless tobacco than other youth.

Every day in 2001, 4,400 young people aged 12-17 tried their first cigarette, and about 2,000 began to smoke daily.(1) One-third of adolescents who smoke will eventually die of a smoking-related disease.(2) “The results of the NYTS 2002 data are encouraging in that they indicate young people are increasingly rejecting tobacco or quitting smoking,” said Cheryl Healton, president and CEO, American Legacy Foundation. “The reduction in smoking prevalence among high school students can in part be attributed to the foundation’s national youth anti-smoking campaign, truth(R). The truth(R) campaign, a blend of advertising, online and grassroots efforts focused on 12 to 17 year olds, empowers young people to make informed decisions about tobacco use, and it is clear that young people are getting the message.”

Among high school students (2002 data):

— 28.4 percent reported current use of any tobacco product (compared to 34.5 percent in 2000)
— 22.9 percent reported cigarette use, with no difference by gender
— White students were more likely to use cigarettes than African American, Hispanic or Asian youth
— 11.6 percent used cigars
— 6.1 percent used smokeless tobacco
— 3.2 percent used a pipe
— 2.6 percent used bidis
— 2.7 percent used kreteks.

Among middle school students (2002 data):

— 13.3 percent reported current use of any tobacco product
— 10.1 percent reported cigarette use, with no differences in use by gender or race/ethnicity
— 6.0 percent reported use of cigars
— 3.7 percent used smokeless tobacco
— 3.5 percent used a pipe
— 2.4 percent used bidis
— 2.0 percent used kreteks.
— There were no differences in tobacco use by race/ethnicity.

“Although the considerable decrease in tobacco use among high school students is good news, the lack of decline among middle school students is of concern,” Healton said. “Efforts to reduce tobacco use by middle school students should be increased. State and national anti-tobacco programs must continue to be funded, or funding must be reinstated, as these programs have been proven effective in reducing youth smoking rates. In addition, parents can serve as good role models for their children by quitting smoking or by not smoking in the house. Research shows that young people who have parents that smoke are more likely to smoke themselves.”

The “toll” of tobacco use, including

— more than 440,000 annual deaths,(3)
— 8.6 million Americans living with one or more illness caused by tobacco,(4)
— more than $80 billion in annual productivity losses, and
— $75 billion in excess medical expenditures(5) must be reduced.

Reducing youth smoking is an essential component of efforts to reducing these health impacts and costs in the future.

A total of 246 public and private schools participated in the 2002 NYTS, yielding 26,149 completed student interviews. Eighty-three percent of the selected schools and 90% of the selected students participated, resulting in a 75% response rate. Current use of cigarettes, cigars, smokeless tobacco, pipes, bidis and kreteks (clove cigarettes) was defined as use of the product on one or more of the 30 days preceding the survey. Current use of “any tobacco product” was defined as having used any of these products on one or more of the 30 days preceding the survey. Sampling frames were stratified by Census region; African American, Hispanic and Asian students were oversampled.

The findings in this report are subject to at least two limitations. First, these data apply only to youth who attended middle or high school and are not representative of all persons in this age group. Nationally, approximately 5 percent of adolescents aged 16-17 years had dropped out of school.(6) Second, data were collected by self-report.

For more information at http://www.americanlegacy.org