Quick Facts:
The prevalence (unweighted) rate for past month cigarette smoking among California youth - grades 9-12 in 1997 was 26.6% and for smokeless tobacco it was 4.2% according the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System.
Reference: Office on Smoking and Health National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention State: Tobacco Activities Tracking and Evaluation System.
The number of:
- Children/youth who become new daily smokers each year in California is 106,000.
- Children/youth exposed to secondhand smoke at home is 1,114,000.
- High school males who use smokeless tobacco is 7%
- Packs of cigarettes illegally sold to children/youth in California each year is 29.6 million.
- California children/youth now under 18 who will die from smoking (if current trends continue) is 462,000.
Reference: Special Reports: State Tobacco Settlement - The Toll in California from the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids web site.
Youth smoking prevalence in California has remained relatively stable since 1994. Youth smoking prevalence dropped slightly from 12.1% in 1995 to 10.7% in 1998. However, during this same period, the smoking prevalence among youth 12-13 years of age increased from 2.0% in 1996 to 4.5% in 1998.
Youth smoking prevalence does not differ consistently between males and females in California.
Differences in youth smoking by race/ethnicity are evident through the 1990-1998 period. White youth have had consistently higher smoking prevalence rates (12.5%/1998) than the other groups. Hispanic (10.2%/1998) and Asian (9.5%/1998) youth follow with the next highest rates. African American youth (4.0%/1998) have had consistently lower smoking rates than the other groups, although since 1994 a steady pattern of increase is seen at 2.3%.
References:
California Youth Tobacco Surveys (CYTS) (1990, 1992-1993) funded by the Tobacco Control Section of the CDHS (Tobacco Tax and Health Protection Act/Proposition 99), were conducted by the Cancer Prevention and Control Program of the University of California in San Diego. The survey included between 1,789 and 5,040 youth participants 12 to 17 years of age. These surveys consisted of behavioral, attitudinal, and demographic questions regarding tobacco use and policy in California.
CYTS (1994-1998) are random telephone surveys conducted by the Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing Unit of the Cancer Surveillance Section of the CDHS. In 1998, 2,462 youth 12 to 17 years of ages were interviewed about their smoking behaviors attitudes and beliefs.
30-Day Smoking Prevalence (%) among 8th, 10th and 12th Graders for California 1991-1999
| Grade |
'91 |
'92 |
'93 |
'94 |
'95 |
'96 |
'97 |
'98 |
'99 |
| 8th |
8.0 |
10.4 |
11.6 |
14.3 |
12.1 |
13.6 |
12.4 |
11.3 |
7.5 |
| 10th |
12.7 |
18.4 |
18.3 |
15.9 |
18.0 |
19.4 |
19.9 |
17.2 |
16.3 |
| 12th |
22.2 |
20.1 |
18.8 |
22.0 |
22.3 |
23.3 |
26.2 |
23.5 |
22.8 |
Source: The Monitoring the Future Study conducted by the Institute of Social Research of Michigan for the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Smoking Uptake Continuum for Adolescents in California
An examination of the distribution of California youth along the Uptake Continuum over time shows that significantly fewer never-smoking youth could be classified as "nonsusceptible" in 1996 than in 1993. In fact, more youth were susceptible nonsmokers, advanced experimenters, and addicted smokers in 1996 than in 1993.
A higher percentage of older youth could be classified as advanced experimenters or addicted smokers than could younger youth: Close to 15% of 16-17 were addicted in 1996.
Source: California Tobacco Control Section: CTS 1993, 1996.
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