Almost 23 percent of high school students currently use a tobacco
product, according to new data published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in today’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report
(MMWR). Of particular concern, more than 90 percent of those using a
tobacco product are using combustible tobacco products such as
cigarettes, cigars, hookahs, and pipes.
Extensive use of
combustible products is of special concern because tobacco smoking
causes most of the tobacco-related disease and death in the United
States.
The 50th Anniversary Surgeon General’s Report
released last January concluded that unless youth smoking rates drop
rapidly, 5.6 million youth currently aged 0 to 17 will die early from a
cigarette smoking-related illness.
“Nine out of ten smokers tried
their first cigarette by age 18,” said Tim McAfee, M.D., M.P.H.,
Director of the CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health. “We must do more to
prevent our youth from using tobacco products, or we will see millions
of them suffer and die prematurely as adults. Fully implementing proven
tobacco control programs would help keep our youth from falling victim
to tobacco.”
CDC’s National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS) found that
in 2013, 22.9 percent of high school students and 6.5 percent of middle
school students reported using a tobacco product within the last 30
days. Nearly half (46 percent) of all high school students and 17.7
percent of middle school students said they had used a tobacco product
at least once in their lifetime. The survey also found that 12.6 percent
of high school students say they currently use two or more tobacco
products.
Youth who say they use more than one tobacco product are
at higher risk for developing nicotine dependence that can lead to
continued smoking into adulthood. Most youth who use tobacco believe
they will be able to quit, but about three out of four high school
smokers continue smoking into adulthood.
Among all high school
students, 4.5 percent reported using e-cigarettes within the last 30
days; and 1.1 percent of middle school students reported using
e-cigarettes in the last 30 days. While the impact of electronic
cigarette use on public health remains uncertain, the 2014 Surgeon
General’s report found that nicotine use can have adverse effects on
adolescent brain development. Therefore, nicotine use by youth in any
form- combusted, smokeless, or electronic- is unsafe.
Cigarettes
were the most prevalent tobacco product used by white and Hispanic high
school students (14.0 percent and 13.4 percent), although cigars were
close behind (11.4 percent and 12.1 percent). Cigar use was more
prevalent than cigarette use for other races/ethnicities. Cigar use
among black high school students was nearly 50 percent higher than
cigarette use (14.7 percent vs. 9.0 percent), and more than twice as
high (4.5 percent vs 1.7 percent) among black middle school students.
Cigars
are currently unregulated by FDA and are taxed at a lower rate. Some
cigars are manufactured with fruit and candy flavors prohibited in
cigarettes, and sold in small quantities with youth able to buy them at
low cost.
“One effective strategy for reducing tobacco use among
youth is raising the price,” said Brian King Ph.D., a Senior Scientific
Advisor with CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health. “The Food and Drug
Administration’s new youth-focused media campaign, “The Real Cost,” is also expected to lead to reductions in youth tobacco use.”
Cigarette
smoking is the leading preventable cause of disease and death in the
United States, killing more than 480,000 Americans each year. For every
death, there are about 32 Americans living with a smoking-related
disease. Besides the human cost, smoking takes a devastating toll on our
nation’s economy, costing more than $289 billion a year (including at
least $133 billion in direct medical care for adults and more than $156
billion in lost productivity).
Today’s article is released to coincide with the 39th
anniversary of the Great American Smokeout, which will be held on
November 20, 2014. Surveys show about 70 percent of all smokers want to
quit, and research shows quitting completely at any age has health
benefits. Smokers can get free help quitting by calling 1-800-QUIT-NOW.
CDC's Tips From Former Smokers campaign features real people living with
the consequences of smoking-related diseases and offers additional quit
resources at http://www.cdc.gov/tips, including cessation assistance developed by the National Cancer Institute.