Research

New study sheds light on role of news coverage in reducing teenage smoking
A new study has demonstrated that newspaper coverage of the Florida Tobacco Control Program’s health promotion campaign indirectly contributed to declines in youth smoking between 1998 and 2002. Even though teens rarely read the newspaper, researchers found convincing evidence for an association between newspaper editorial coverage and reductions in youth smoking. They believe that a variety of factors contribute to this indirect link, the most likely of which is that increased news coverage leads to a more negative and less accepting youth smoking environment. Click here to read more about the study conducted by RTI International, which is published in the August edition of Communication Research.

Smoking among girls rising worldwide
A report presented at the 12th World Conference on Tobacco suggests that teenage girls are smoking at nearly the same level as teenage boys. Among the one hundred fifty countries studied, researchers found nearly identical smoking rates of girls and boys ages 13 to 15. Overall, teenage boys still smoke more than teenage girls, although the gap is narrowing due to targeted marketing of tobacco products to young girls. To read more about this trend, click here.

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Resources

2006 New Jersey Youth Tobacco Survey
The results of the 2006 New Jersey Youth Tobacco Survey demonstrate dramatic decreases in lifetime and current smoking rates among middle and high school students compared to rates in 1999. Conversely, the results also indicate persistent disparities by race, ethnicity and gender. Click here to access the report.

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Projects        

Ontario: Youth target tobacco “power walls”
Ontario youth groups have been visiting convenience stores over the past month to encourage storeowners to take down tobacco “power walls,” or the displays of cigarettes typically found behind checkout counters. The youth are employees of Youth Acting for Change on Tobacco (Y-ACT) and TOXIK, two local alliance groups working to raise awareness about the effects of power walls on young people. While the Smoke-Free Ontario Act will require tobacco retailers to remove tobacco products from view by May 31, 2008, the youth groups realize that this will be a challenge in large part due to the payouts convenience stores receive from the tobacco industry in exchange for product placement. The youth groups plan to give awards to businesses that comply with the ordinance before the official date of implementation. To read more about the local efforts, click here.

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