Youth Tobacco Use Still High

Youth Tobacco Use Still High

A report from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that in 2011, almost 30% males and 18% female high school students were using some forms of tobacco. Greater than 8% males and 6% females were using tobacco in the middle ages.

This indicates that there are still high percentages of high school students that are using tobacco despite of a general 11-year declining trend in tobacco use.

Thomas Frieden, M.D., M.P.H., CDC director, have said “An overall decline in tobacco use is good news, but although 4 out of 5 teens don't smoke, far too many kids start to smoke every day. Most tobacco use begins and becomes established during adolescence. This report is further evidence that we need to do more to prevent our nation’s youth from establishing a deadly addiction to tobacco.”

As implicated in the study, different ways must be done to lessen the percentage of youth that is smoking. One strategy could be making the prices of the tobacco products higher so that it would not be affordable to students.

There are recommendations such as restrictions on sale and distribution of tobacco products to the youth.  Also, studies show that there must campaigns from the media themselves.

Posted by George Daniels on Sunday August 12 2012, 12:24 PM EST. Ref: CDC. Link. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Health. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0