The Surgeon General just came out with a new report titled "Preventing Tobacco Use Among Youth and Young Adults." The last report the Surgeon General did on this topic was in 1994. The report shows that while we've made gains in this country in reducing smoking rates among youth, those declines have slowed. The report highlights the need for continued comprehensive community efforts. Today, 25% of high school seniors are regular cigarette smokers according to the Youth Risk Behavior Survey 2009. Smokeless tobacco use rates have stalled nationwide.
Tobacco companies spent $10 on advertising in 2008. The report states that the evidence is suggested that tobacco products are packaged in ways that are appealing to adolescents and young adults. With many smokeless tobacco products packaged to look like breath mints, it’s not hard to see why they are so appealing to youth. The report highlights how important it is to prevent youth from starting to smoke in the first place. In fact, almost all cigarette smoking starts by age 18 (88%), and 99% by age 26.
So, what can be done? Young people are very sensitive to price, so tobacco products that are cheap are very appealing. Raising taxes on tobacco would help immensely in reducing youth rates. Mass media campaigns to educate people about how harmful smoking is, and policy changes that discourage smoking would also help. An example of policy change is a high school in Newton where a high school student I know advocated to increase the "no smoking" parameter around the school, making it more difficult for students to smoke. The construction workers working near the school, some of whom were smokers, were not happy, but it’s an effective way to discourage youth from starting to smoke in the first place!
Here’s a link to the Report: http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/preventing-youth-tobacco-use/index.html
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