Smoking Losing Favor Among Teens

The anti-smoking message seems to be getting through to youngsters.

Surveys taken two decades apart in a Midwestern county in the United States found that fewer middle and high school students in the county smoked in 2001 compared to 1980 and that more of them now believe smoking is a bad idea.

The Arizona State University study, published in the August issue of Health and Psychology, found teenagers in 2001 were more likely to regard smoking as more addictive and less "nice," "fun" or "pleasant" than the teens surveyed in 1980.

The same questionnaire was given in 1980 and in 2001 to students in grades 7 through 11 in the Monroe, Ind., county school system. The 1980 survey included 3,166 students and the 2001 survey included 3,495 students.

The number of regular smokers declined from 15 percent in the first survey to 11 percent in 2001, and the students who tried only one or two cigarettes dropped from 40 percent to 23 percent. Those who had never smoked increased from 45 percent in 1980 to 66 percent in 2001.

During the 2001 survey, the researchers also examined the current smoking habits of children whose parents took part in the 1980 survey. The children were the same age in 2001 as their parents had been when they took part in the 1980 survey.

When they studied 95 of these parent-child pairs of the same gender, the researchers found that, just as in the larger survey, there was less smoking and the same anti-smoking shift among the parent-child pairs.

More information

Here's information for teens about the dangers of smoking.

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