Youth Prevention

Research

Parents important in teens' smoking risk: study
A recent study attempted to identify social predictors of progression to daily smoking among youths who were occasional smokers by eighth grade. Among the 270 adolescents in the study who were occasional smokers before high school, 58% were daily smokers by twelfth grade. Youths were more likely to make the progression to daily smoking if their parents or friends smoked. Teens were less likely to become daily smokers if their parents provided adequate supervision, and gave appropriate rewards and punishments for behavior. Click here to read a summary of the findings, or click here to read the full article in Pediatrics.

A double-threat to teen health
A survey compiled from the 2007 Philadelphia Youth Behavioral Risk Survey (YRBS) has indicated that kids who engage in heavy drinking are more likely to engage in heavy smoking. Researchers are recommending that health educators address both topics as one health risk. When the data were broken down by race, ethnicity, and gender, Caucasians were more likely than others to engage in either binge drinking or smoking, but all groups were equally likely to engage in both behaviors at the same time. The findings of this research were presented this month at the American Psychological Association’s annual meeting. The next phase of the research will focus on determining when kids tend to begin binge drinking and smoking. To read more about the research, click here.

Relative risks of exposure to different smoking models on the development of nicotine dependence during adolescence: A five-wave longitudinal study.
A recent study attempted to describe patterns involved in the development of nicotine dependence in adolescents. The researchers found that baseline nicotine dependence was more common if a sibling or best friend was a smoker. Having friends who are smokers was the only factor associated with faster development of nicotine dependence over time. This suggests that peer interventions may be helpful for decreasing the prevalence of nicotine dependence symptoms among adolescents. Click here to read the abstract of the research in the Journal of Adolescent Health.

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Reports

‘Substantial reduction’ in tobacco sales to minors
According to data released by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), states in the U.S. are reporting the lowest rate of tobacco sales to youth in the 12 years since the Synar program began. The Synar Amendment is a federal regulation that aims to reduce young people’s access to tobacco by requiring states to implement laws and programs that limit tobacco sales to minors. Nationally, sales to minors during unannounced annual retailer inspections went down from 40.1% in 1997 to 9.9% in 2008. The data also show a decline in past-month cigarette use for minors ages 12 to 17 from 13% in 2002 to 9.8% in 2007. Read more about the data here, or click here to read the SAMHSA report.

Illegal tobacco sales put federal funds in jeopardy (OK)
Although reports of illegal sales of tobacco to minors are at an all time national low, state officials in Oklahoma are worried that sales to minors may be frequent enough to cause the state to lose nearly $7 million in federal funds for treating substance abuse. Last year’s retail tobacco sales to minors were up 18.1% compared to the previous year’s 12.5%. If more than 20% of the state’s retail stores are cited for selling tobacco products to minors this year, then the state could lose up to 40% of federal funds used for substance abuse treatment and prevention. Read more here.

Anti-smoking ad takes new approach for teens (TX)
Consistent with the Truth campaign strategy aimed at preventing teens from smoking, a new El Paso, Texas ad campaign has been developed that focuses on teen independence. The new ad campaign does not spend much time on health effects of smoking because research has shown health-related messages to be less effective for youths than other approaches. Additionally, adverse health effects are usually seen later in life. The campaign aims at teens’ desire for independence by demonstrating how tobacco companies and nicotine addiction take away smokers’ independence. Click here to read more about the new local media campaign.

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International

Proxy purchasing on the increase (U.K.)
A new study has found that more schoolchildren are turning to proxy purchasing of alcohol and cigarettes now that it is becoming more difficult to purchase age-restricted goods from stores. It was reported that 39% of teens found it difficult to purchase cigarettes from shops, compared to 24% in 2006. Additionally, research suggests that regular youth smokers who usually buy from shops and decreased to 55% from 78% in 2006. Although the study found that the drinking and smoking prevalence has been decreasing, more students are turning to friends and relatives to purchase cigarettes. Fifty two percent of youth smokers reported buying cigarettes from other people compared to 42% in 2004. Read more about the study here.

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