Youth Prevention

Research

Internet may be newest venue for teen tobacco exposure
A new study has found that kids are frequently exposed to messages on the Internet that promote tobacco use. The researchers randomly selected 346 teenagers, and reviewed their page views during one month of internet use. Nearly half the teens, 43%, had been exposed to pro-tobacco imagery. Among the 1.2 million Web pages viewed, less than one percent contained tobacco or smoking content. However, there were more pro-tobacco pages than anti-tobacco pages. Over half the pages with pro-tobacco content were found on social networking websites. Click here to read more about the study, which was published in the July 20 issue of Pediatrics. Click here to access the full text of the article.

Team sports can't compete with films to keep kids from smoking
According to a new study, participating in team sports can lower a youth’s risk of becoming a smoker. However, this positive effect cannot compete with the powerful influence of smoking in movies. The researchers surveyed a group of 2,048 children in 1999 to assess exposure to smoking in movies, and again in 2007 to assess participation in team sports. Individuals who did not participate in sports were twice as likely to be smokers, compared to those who played sports. Children who saw more movies with smoking were more likely to be smokers as young adults, regardless of whether or not they participated in sports. Click here to find out more. Click here to read the abstract of the article in the July 2009 issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

Both good and bad movie characters who smoke influence teens to do the same
A recent study found that any smoking in movies affects adolescents, but the type of character depicted smoking affects youth differently. The analysis showed that portrayals of negative characters, or “bad guys,” as smokers had a stronger influence on smoking initiation, but because more characters were portrayed as positive, exposures to good characters’ smoking were more frequent. The results of the study indicate that exposure to smoking in movies, regardless of context, predicts adolescent smoking initiation. Click here to find out more. Click here to read the abstract of the research in Pediatrics.

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Reports

Smoking rates drop among teens (IN)
Data from the 2008 Indiana Youth Tobacco Survey (YTS) showed that smoking among high school students dropped from 23.2 percent in 2006 to 18.3 percent in 2008, a decline of 21 percent. According to state officials, teen smoking in the state is at an all-time low. This is important since teens who smoke are much more likely to be addicted to nicotine as adults, compared to their nonsmoking peers. Click here for more information on Indiana’s youth smoking data. Despite significant progress in reducing youth smoking, the state budget for the upcoming year will cut funding for the Indiana Tobacco Prevention and Cessation (ITPC) program. State and local tobacco control advocates are concerned that the loss of funding will cut into the recent progress. Read more here.

Juvenile tobacco sales up in West Virginia (WV)
According to West Virginia’s Annual Synar Report for Fiscal Year 2009, random inspections of retailers found that nearly 18% of stores in the state sold tobacco to minors. If the rate climbs over 20%, then the state could lose 40% of the federal funding for its yearly Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grants. Although the violation rate for tobacco sales to underage customers has gone up over the last five years, state data show that since 2000, fewer high school students report ever having smoked. The agency responsible for enforcing underage tobacco sales laws, the West Virginia Alcohol Beverage Control Administration, faces multiple challenges to enforcement. Read more here.

The cent of tobacco: As feds crack down on youth smoking, companies give millions to youth groups
Organizations that provide programs and services to youth are divided on whether to accept tobacco industry money. Some, like 4-H and the Boys and Girls Club, have accepted the money after making sure there were “no strings attached.” Other organizations question the tobacco companies’ motives, saying that the companies are attempting to gain legitimacy by supporting youth programs, and that youth organizations that accept the money are sending the wrong message to their members and to the public. This article describes the dilemma that youth organizations face in deciding whether to accept tobacco industry dollars. Click here to read more.

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