Health
Number of teens smoking is down
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted July 12, 2004
Increased cigarette taxes and anti-smoking campaigns could have been factors in a dramatic decrease in smoking among high school students, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Smoking levels have dropped to 22% among high school students in 2003, compared with 36% in 1997, and are at the lowest level since the CDC began tracking these rates in 1975.
The agency attributes the increased price in cigarettes -- by 90% from December 1997 to May 2003 -- and exposure to smoking-prevention campaigns as reasons for the decline among male and female students.
Researchers also found that the percentage of high school students who smoke is, for the first time in 20 years, lower by about 1% than the percentage of adults who smoke. Reducing the number of students who smoke is important, since many adults say they began smoking as teens.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2004/07/12/hlbf0712.htm.
