Tobacco use among American middle school and high school students declined gradually from 2000 to 2011, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
However, based on data from long-term studies such as the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, the rate of decline has slowed noticeably compared with the period 1997-2003.
In 2011, nearly 30% of high school males and 18% of high school females used some form of tobacco. More than 8% of middle school males and nearly 6% of middle school females used some form of tobacco in '11.
Despite continuing an 11-year downward trend, tobacco use remains high among high school students. For example, among black students, cigar use increased significantly, from 7.1% in 2009 to 11.7% in 2011. That year, cigar use among high school males (15.7%) was comparable to cigarette use (17.7%).
Cigar use includes the use of cigarette-like cigars that can be packaged and smoked like typical cigarettes, but are taxed at a lower rate, making them more appealing and accessible to youth, according to the report. While they contain the same toxic chemicals as cigarettes, no cigars are subject to restrictions on flavorings and misleading descriptors such as "light" or "low tar."
Nearly 25% of high school males and more than 17% of high school females used some form of smoked tobacco product in 2011, while smokeless tobacco use among high school males (12.9%) was eight times higher than among high school females (1.6%).
"An overall decline in tobacco use is good news, but although four out of five teens don’t smoke, far too many kids start to smoke every day," CDC Director Thomas R. Frieden, MD, MPH, said in a news release. "Most tobacco use begins and becomes established during adolescence. This report is further evidence that we need to do more to prevent our nation’s youth from establishing a deadly addiction to tobacco."
The study, "Current Tobacco Use Among Middle and High School Students — United States, 2011," published in the Aug. 10 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, reported no significant declines in the use of any tobacco product among middle school students from 2009 to 2011.
The report reaffirms the need to return youth tobacco use trends to the more rapid rate of decline — 40% — seen from the late 1990s through 2003, according to the CDC. To further reduce tobacco use among young people, the "2012 Surgeon General’s Report" recommends making tobacco products less affordable, running hard-hitting mass media campaigns and implementing evidence-based tobacco control and prevention programs that work in conjunction with new restrictions on the sale, distribution and marketing of cigarettes and other tobacco products to youth.
Tobacco use remains the leading cause of preventable death and disease in the United States, according to the CDC. Cigarette use and exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke kill an estimated 443,000 Americans each year. The health consequences of tobacco use include heart disease, multiple types of cancer, lung disease, adverse reproductive effects and the worsening of chronic health conditions. Yet nearly 4,000 kids under age 18 try their first cigarette every day. In addition to the cost in human lives, cigarette smoking has been estimated to cost $193 billion annually in direct healthcare expenses and lost productivity.
To read the report, visit http://1.usa.gov/QJME71. For information on a similar report released last week about tobacco use by adults, visit www.Nurse.com/Article/AdultSmokingReport.
However, based on data from long-term studies such as the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, the rate of decline has slowed noticeably compared with the period 1997-2003.
In 2011, nearly 30% of high school males and 18% of high school females used some form of tobacco. More than 8% of middle school males and nearly 6% of middle school females used some form of tobacco in '11.
Despite continuing an 11-year downward trend, tobacco use remains high among high school students. For example, among black students, cigar use increased significantly, from 7.1% in 2009 to 11.7% in 2011. That year, cigar use among high school males (15.7%) was comparable to cigarette use (17.7%).
Cigar use includes the use of cigarette-like cigars that can be packaged and smoked like typical cigarettes, but are taxed at a lower rate, making them more appealing and accessible to youth, according to the report. While they contain the same toxic chemicals as cigarettes, no cigars are subject to restrictions on flavorings and misleading descriptors such as "light" or "low tar."
Nearly 25% of high school males and more than 17% of high school females used some form of smoked tobacco product in 2011, while smokeless tobacco use among high school males (12.9%) was eight times higher than among high school females (1.6%).
"An overall decline in tobacco use is good news, but although four out of five teens don’t smoke, far too many kids start to smoke every day," CDC Director Thomas R. Frieden, MD, MPH, said in a news release. "Most tobacco use begins and becomes established during adolescence. This report is further evidence that we need to do more to prevent our nation’s youth from establishing a deadly addiction to tobacco."
The study, "Current Tobacco Use Among Middle and High School Students — United States, 2011," published in the Aug. 10 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, reported no significant declines in the use of any tobacco product among middle school students from 2009 to 2011.
The report reaffirms the need to return youth tobacco use trends to the more rapid rate of decline — 40% — seen from the late 1990s through 2003, according to the CDC. To further reduce tobacco use among young people, the "2012 Surgeon General’s Report" recommends making tobacco products less affordable, running hard-hitting mass media campaigns and implementing evidence-based tobacco control and prevention programs that work in conjunction with new restrictions on the sale, distribution and marketing of cigarettes and other tobacco products to youth.
Tobacco use remains the leading cause of preventable death and disease in the United States, according to the CDC. Cigarette use and exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke kill an estimated 443,000 Americans each year. The health consequences of tobacco use include heart disease, multiple types of cancer, lung disease, adverse reproductive effects and the worsening of chronic health conditions. Yet nearly 4,000 kids under age 18 try their first cigarette every day. In addition to the cost in human lives, cigarette smoking has been estimated to cost $193 billion annually in direct healthcare expenses and lost productivity.
To read the report, visit http://1.usa.gov/QJME71. For information on a similar report released last week about tobacco use by adults, visit www.Nurse.com/Article/AdultSmokingReport.
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