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Tobacco use in high school students declining
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A notable decrease in smoking among high school students was observed between 2015 and 2016, with declines in current use of any tobacco product, use of any combustible product, use of two or more tobacco products and hookah use, according to a recent Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report issued by the CDC.
“Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable diseases and death in the United States, and nearly all tobacco use begins during youth and young adulthood,” Ahmed Jamal, MBBS, from the office on smoking and health at the National Center for Chronic Diseases Prevention and Health Promotion within the CDC, and colleagues wrote. “Among youth, use of tobacco products in any form is unsafe.
To establish patterns regarding the use of tobacco products in middle and high school students between 2011 and 2016, the CDC and the FDA assessed data collected through the National Youth Tobacco surveys. Information gathered included use of seven tobacco products (cigarettes, cigars, smokeless tobacco, e-cigarettes, hookahs, pipe tobacco and bidis) within the past 30 days for those in grades 6 through 8 and grades 9 through 12.
The cross-sectional, voluntary, school-based, self-administered, pencil-and-paper questionnaire was given to students in both public and private schools, with a nationally representative sample of students formed through a three-stage cluster sampling procedure.
As of 2016, 20.2% of those in grades 9 through 12 and 7.2% of those in grades 6 through 8 used tobacco one or more days within the past 30 days. Of these survey participants, 47.2% of high school students and 42.4% of middle school students used two or more tobacco products. Among these demographics, e-cigarettes were the most popular form of tobacco product (11.3% for high school; 4.3% for middle school).
Between 2011 and 2016, no notable decrease was noted for high school or middle school students concerning any tobacco product use within the past 30 days, but the 2015-2016 year demonstrated a decrease in current use of any tobacco product, use of any combustible product, use of two or more tobacco products and hookah use in high school students.
“Tobacco prevention and control strategies at the national, state and local levels have likely contributed to the reduction in use of certain tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, among youth in recent years,” Jamal and colleagues wrote. “Continued implementation of these strategies can help prevent and further reduce the use of all forms of tobacco product among U.S. youth.” — by Katherine Bortz
Disclosure: The researchers provide no relevant financial disclosures.
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