Teen Smoking Rates Down Again
WASHINGTON-More than one in four American high school students smoke cigarettes, but tobacco use among this age group has steadily declined since 1997, according to a school-based study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
WASHINGTONMore than one in four American high school students smoke cigarettes, but tobacco use among this age group has steadily declined since 1997, according to a school-based study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The latest Youth Risk Behavior Survey found that 28.5% of high school pupils currently smoked in 2001, down from 36.4% in 1997. Although 70.4% of high school students had ever smoked cigarettes in 1999, that figure fell to 63.9% in 2001.
Based on this curve, the CDC calculates that the number of high school students who have ever tried cigarettes will decline to 16% or less by the year 2010.
