Teen Smokers Become Adult Smokers

A new study from Sweden reveals that having low peer status in adolescence is a strong risk factor for regular and heavy smoking in adulthood. Researchers from Stockholm University in Sweden used a large database that followed the lives of more than 15 000 Swedes, mainly from the Stockholm area, from birth to middle age. The researchers isolated 2 329 people who were interviewed once at age 13 about peer status at school and again at age 32 about their smoking habits. The results indicate that the lower a young person's status is among his or her school peers, the more likely that person is to become a regular (less than 20 cigarettes per day) or heavy (20+ cigarettes) smoker in adulthood.

Tobacco Use Dropped, Teen Smokers in Kentucky

Fewer teens are smoking these days — which is welcome news for many health advocates. A recent report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says current tobacco use and cigarette smoking dropped for middle and high school students nationally from 2000 to 2011. Among middle school students, current tobacco use dtropped from 14.9 percent to 7.1 percent, and current cigarette use dropped from 10.7 percent to 4.3 percent. Among high schoolers, tobacco use dropped from 34.4 percent to 23.2 percent, and cigarette smoking dropped from 27.9 percent to 15.8 percent. While the report didn’t break down the statistics by state, Kentucky consistently ranks at or near the top for tobacco use in surveys. In the 2011 Kentucky Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 24 percent of high school students reported smoking cigarettes at least once during the 30 days before the survey, and 17 percent reported using chewing tobacco, snuff or dip.