Cigarette Smoking Among High School Students Appears to be Declining

One of the major health concerns in the US is cigarette smoking among adolescents and teenagers. A new study released by the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) indicates that the percentage of high school students who smoke increased from 27.5% in 1991 to 34.8% in 1999. But the report also includes numbers suggesting that smoking among high school students may have leveled off or begun to decline during the late 1990s: 34.8% in 1995, 36.4% in 1997, and 34.8% in 1999. The study is reported in the August 25, 2000 issue of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

To examine changes in cigarette smoking among high school students in the United States from 1991 to 1999, the CDC analyzed data from the national Youth Risk Behavior Survey. The survey is a representative of students in grades 9 through 12 for all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Students were surveyed biannually in 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, and 1999. The number of students surveyed each year ranged from 10,904 to 16,296.

In each of the survey years, white students were significantly more likely than Hispanic students, who were significantly more likely than black students, to report current smoking. In 1991, white students were 2.5 times more likely than black students and 1.2 times more likely than Hispanic students to report current smoking. In 1999, white students were 2.0 times more likely than black students and 1.2 times more likely than Hispanic students to report current smoking.

CDC officials stress that while the news seems encouraging, trends need to be closely monitored in future surveys to detect whether the apparent trend found in the data for the late 1990's will continue in the new century.

And they note that there are limitations to the study. The survey only includes teens enrolled in high schools, and closer analysis of the survey data suggests that the decline may have been limited to selected groups, black males and 9th-grade students in particular. In addition, frequent smoking (defined in the survey as having smoked on 20 of the last 30 days before the survey) rates were significantly higher in 1999 than in 1991 and showed no pattern of leveling or declining.

Each year, Medical College of Wisconsin physicians care for more than 180,000 patients, representing nearly 500,000 patient visits. Medical College physicians practice at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, Froedtert Memorial Lutheran Hospital, the Milwaukee VA Medical Center, and many other hospitals and clinics in Milwaukee and southeastern Wisconsin.