Research

More good news on teen smoking: Rates at or near record lows
Teen cigarette use has continued to decline, according to this year’s Monitoring the Future (MTF) Survey, a school-based national survey of 46,348 eighth, tenth, and twelfth graders. MTF is a research project carried out by the University of Michigan with support from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). Cigarette smoking is at its lowest since at least 1991; this year, 7% of eighth graders, 12% of tenth graders, and 20% of twelfth graders reported having smoked during the past 30 days. In all three grades, the monthly smoking prevalence declined, and overall, there was a statistically significant reduction in smoking compared to last year. Along with changes in behavioral indicators, social attitudes toward smoking have become less favorable over the years; however, disapproval of smoking has leveled off this year, and in fact, twelfth graders expressed less disapproval of smoking. Although fewer youths report that they can obtain cigarettes “fairly easily,” 57% of eighth graders still have fairly easy access to cigarettes. Despite this year’s encouraging trends in cigarette and alcohol use, drug use continues to be a problem. Previous declines in marijuana use have slowed, and rates of prescription drug abuse remain high. Click here to read more about the findings on tobacco use, or click here to visit the Monitoring the Future Survey website.

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Reports

New survey shows continued progress in reducing youth smoking; Congress, states can accelerate declines by implementing proven solutions
In response to this year’s Monitoring the Future report, t he Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids has published a statement encouraging legislators to remain vigilant about preventing youths from smoking. Although youth smoking rates have decreased since the 1990s, legislators are warned to not become complacent about this public health issue. Declines in smoking among both youth and adults have stagnated in the past few years; a statistically significant decrease in smoking among twelfth graders has not been observed since 2003. The report cites recent reports from the Institute of Medicine and the President's Cancer Panel which call for the following legislative actions:  granting the FDA the authority to regulate tobacco products, significantly increasing the federal tobacco tax, increasing state funding of tobacco prevention and cessation programs to the CDC-recommended levels, and enacting comprehensive state smokefree laws and tobacco tax increases. Click here for more information.

$900,000 anti-smoking ads won't air on TV (AZ)
After the state spent $900,000 to develop an anti-smoking campaign, the Arizona Department of Health Services made a last minute decision not to run three television advertisements that were intended to be the centerpiece of the effort to prevent smoking among youth. The agency decided to scrap the television ads because of cost-effectiveness issues with spending $2 million to buy television airtime for the campaign. Instead, the ads will be available on antismoking websites, and internet-based outreach is planned. Public health groups have expressed disappointment and concern about the effectiveness of the campaign without the television component. Click here to read more.

Teen smoking continues to decline (MN)
The results of the 2008 Minnesota Youth Tobacco Survey demonstrate that tobacco use has recently decreased among youth. In the past three years, the number of middle school students who use tobacco dropped from 9% to just under 7%, and tobacco use among high-school students fell from 29% to 27%. Although these statistics are encouraging, menthol cigarettes, which are popular among new smokers, have risen in popularity. Also, the decrease in tobacco use has mainly been seen in girls, while tobacco use among boys has remained stable. Read more here.

Pa. may ease outdoor smoking ban at universities (PA)
According to a spokesman for Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education, the fourteen public universities that instituted campus smoking bans in September are considering relaxing their rules. The schools were criticized for their somewhat sudden decision to implement the ban in order to comply with the state smokefree law, which went into effect around the same time. Administrators are currently deliberating over concessions that would allow smoking in cars with closed windows, and on sidewalks of public roads that traverse the campuses. Find out more here.

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