"The increase in smoking is one reason for the deteriorating health of the nation's children." The 1994 Child Health Report Card, American Health Foundation, October, 1994.

• In 1997, 42.7% of students used cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, and cigars during the 30 days preceding the survey. (1997 Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Mortality and Morbidity Report, April 3, 1998. Vol. 47, No. 12.)
• More than 4 million American adolescents currently smoke. (Teenage Tobacco Use, American Lung Association, Sept 1998 Fact Sheet)
• More than 1 million adolescent males use spit tobacco. (CDC, "Preventing Tobacco Use Among Young People", A Report of the Surgeon General, 1994)
• In 1997, the overall prevalence of high school cigar use was 22.0% (1997 YRBS, MM&R, 4/3/98. V.47. N.12)
• Everyday 3,000 young people become regular smokers. (Pierce, J., "Trends in Cigarette Smoking in the U.S." Journal of the American Medical Association, 1989, 261:1:61-65)
• The prevalence of current cigarette smoking among U.S. high school students increased from 27.5% in 1991 to 36.4% in 1997. (1997 YRBS, ibid.)
• 36% of students who try cigarettes end up smoking at least a cigarette a day by the time they graduate. ("Tobacco experimenters develop habit one-third of the time." Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Week, June 8, 1998, Vol.10. No. 23. p.8)
• Between 1991 and 1998 the prevalence of smoking increased in each of the three grades surveyed as follows:

Source: "National Survey Results on Drug Use from the Monitoring the Future Study, 1998", The University of Michigan.

• Only 5% of high school seniors who smoke daily think they definitely will be smoking in five years. But, in fact almost 75% of them still smoke five to six years later. ("National Survey Results on Drug Use from the Monitoring the Future Study, 1975-1992", The University of Michigan)

More Interesting Facts:
Youth and Tobacco

• 90% of current smokers began smoking as youth. (Center for Disease Control (CDC), "Preventing Tobacco Use Among Young People", A Report of the Surgeon General, 1994)
• Approximately 1000 of these children, or 5 million children alive today, will eventually die as a result of their smoking. (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, "Projected Smoking-Related Deaths Among Youth- United States," 1996)
• The average age of first use of tobacco is now 11-15 years of age. (NIDA, Drug Abuse Among American High School Seniors, College Students and Young Adults, 1991)
• The younger a person begins smoking the more likely he/she is to become a heavy smoker. (Center for Disease Control (CDC), "Preventing Tobacco Use Among Young People, A Report of the Surgeon General," 1994.)
• The younger a person is when she/he begins smoking, the less likely she/he will be able to quit later. (NIDA, Drug Use, Drinking and Smoking: National Survey Results from High School, College, and Young Adult Populations, 1989)
• Youth tend to underestimate the likelihood that they will become addicted. Almost 75% of youth who smoked daily while they were in high school are still smoking 7 to 9 years later, even though in high school only 5% thought they would be smoking 5 years later. (NIDA, Drug Abuse Among American High School Seniors, College Students and Young Adults, 1991)
• Among smokers aged 12-17 years old, 70% already regret their decision to smoke and 66% state that they want to quit. (The George H. Gallup International Institute, "Teenage Attitudes and Behavior Concerning Tobacco", 1992)
• Each year, children consume between 516 and 947 million packs of cigarettes and 26 million cans of spit tobacco. (Cummings, K.M, "The Illegal Sale of Cigarettes to U S Minors: Estimate by State," American Journal of Public Health, 1994, 84:2:300-302)
• The prevalence of smoking among young people has failed to decline for more than a decade. Recently, smoking has begun to rise among children. (National Survey Results on "Drug Use from the Monitoring the Future Study, 1975-1994," The University of Michigan)

Ethnic/Racial Groups

• 40% Caucasian, 40% Hispanic, 22.7% and African-American students smoked cigarettes in 1997.
• The largest rate is among Caucasian males at 51.5%; and the rate among African-American students has doubled since 1995.
• The aggregated data from 1990-1994 reveals smoking prevalence for Asian and Pacific Islander high school seniors at 20.6% among males and 13.8% among females.
• The prevalence among American Indian and Alaska Native senior students is 41.1% for males and 39.4% for females.
• Most alarming is the fact that among 16-17 year olds the 30-day smoking prevalence has increased by a factor of 40% between 1993 and 1996 for all groups.

Web Sites with Youth Tobacco Prevalence Information and Fact Sheets

1. Tobacco Use Among Middle and High School Students - - United States, 1999, CDC MMWR Weekly January 28, 2000/49(03);49-53: http://www.cdc.gov/ep/ mmwr/preview/ mmwrhtml/ mm4903al.htm
2. Teens become nicotine addicts more quickly than adults, Lycos News > Health > Story, February 24, 2000: http://news.lycos.com/ headlines/ health/article.asp? docid=RTHEALTH-ADA &date=2000225
3. Quick Stats on Female Adolescents - 4 Grownups - Girl Power Campaign Information: http://www.health.org/ gpower/AdultsWhoCare2/ campinfo/hometown/ quickstats.htm

   American Lung Association

4. American Lung Association Fact Sheet: Teenage Tobacco Use, July 1999 Update: http://www.lungusa.org/ tobacco/teenager _factsheet99.html
5. American Lung Association: Tobacco Factoids, Smoke-Free Class of 2000: http://www.lungusa.org/ smokefreeclass/ tobacco.html
6. American Lung Association: Adolescent Smoking Statistics - N-O-T on Tobacco, A Total Health Approach to Helping Teens Stop Smoking: http://www.lungusa.org/ press/tobacco/ not_stats.html

   CDC - Center For Disease Control

7. Facts on Youth Smoking, Health, and Performance - CDC TIPS Tobacco Information and Prevention Source: http://www.cdc.gov/ tobacco/ ythsprt.htm
8. Health Effects of Smoking Among Young People - CDC TIPS Tobacco Information and Prevention Source: http://www.cdc.gov/ tobacco/ stspta5.htm
9. Tobacco and the Health of Young People Fact Sheet - CDC: http://www.cdc.gov/ nccdphp/dash/ ptuafact.htm
10. Incidence of Initiation of Cigarette Smoking Among U.S. Teens Fact Sheet - CDC TIPS Tobacco Information and Prevention Source: http://www.cdc.gov/ tobacco/ initfact.htm

    Kick Butt

11. Prevalence of Tobacco Use Among Youth, - The Studies, Learning Center, kickbutt.org: http://www.kickbutt.org/ learn/youth6.html
12. Prevalence of Tobacco Use Among Youth, - A collection of findings from a wide variety of sources, Learning Center, kickbutt.org: http://www.kickbutt.org/ learn/ youth4.html
13. Tobacco Use by Kids and Teens - Another collection of findings from a wide variety of sources, Learning Center, kickbutt.org: http://www.kickbutt.org/ learn/youth.html
14. Tobacco and Health for Youth - Learning Center, kickbutt.org: http://www.kickbutt.org/ learn/youth3.html

    STAT - Stop Teenage Addiction to Tobacco

15. You Should Know About: Teen Tobacco Use: Prevalence, STAT Stop Teenage Addiction to Tobacco.com: http://www.stat.org/fs2.html
16. You Should Know About: Youth and Tobacco, STAT Stop Teenage Addiction to Tobacco.com: http://www.stat.org/fs5.html

    Youth Media Network

17. Nicotine Addiction in Adolescence - Power Through Communication, Youth Media Network, A statewide project of the California Department of Health Services: http://www.ymn.org/tobacco/ nic.addict.shtml
18. Youth Tobacco Use Prevalence - Power Through Communication, Youth Media Network, A statewide project of the California Department of Health Services: http://www.ymn.org/tobacco/ youth.prev.shtml
19. Health Effects on Teens - Power Through Communication, Youth Media Network, A statewide project of the California Department of Health Services: http://www.ymn.org/newstats/ teens.shtml