Statement by Legacy® on Youth Tobacco Consumption Rates
WASHINGTON, Dec. 14, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- New data announced today by the University of Michigan's Monitoring the Future study shows that rates fell significantly from 12.8% in 2010 to 11.7% this year. The data shows that smoking rates for students in the 8th, 10th, and 12th grades all declined - with the decline among 10th graders statistically significant. Today's findings are welcome news and prove that youth smoking prevention programs, such as Legacy's truth® campaign, are critical to continuing to prevent youth from becoming new smokers.
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"This is very hopeful news for the public health of our nation's youth," said Cheryl G. Healton, DrPH, president and CEO of Legacy®. "Any reduction is a welcome one, and this decrease in smoking prevalence can translate into thousands of lives saved from premature deaths from tobacco-related diseases. Legacy's mission in part is to create a world where young people reject tobacco. It is very encouraging to see that after last year's signs of an increase in smoking among younger teens, we are once again witnessing youth smoking rates decline."
Monitoring the Future, now in its 37th year, is the longest running source for current national data on youth smoking. The survey found that teen smoking in the prior 30 days decreased:
- among 8th graders - from 7.1% in 2010 to 6.1% in 2011;
- among 10th graders - from 13.6% to 11.8%;
- and among 12th graders - from 19.2% to 18.7%.
The data came from national surveys of nearly 47,000 students in 400 secondary schools.
The study also assessed use of smokeless tobacco and saw decline in usage across all three grade levels in 2011. Lastly, hookah use showed a small uptick, but the increase was not statistically significant and the study suggested the products are currently being used lightly and in an experimental fashion.
Legacy, the national public health foundation devoted to keeping young people from smoking and helping all smokers quit, has remained committed through the years to finding new ways to reach and engage with the teen audience, with the ultimate goal of reducing youth smoking prevalence. This is especially important as the tobacco industry continues to spend $29 million per day and $10.5 billion per year marketing its products.
The foundation's truth youth smoking prevention campaign is a national effort that delivers facts and messages to teens about tobacco, but avoids giving directive statements telling youth not to smoke. Research shows that there were 450,000 fewer youth smokers between 2000 and 2004 as a direct result of the truth campaign. truth, which celebrated its ten year anniversary in 2010, continues its innovative approach to giving teens the truth about tobacco through ads, games, social media, a grassroots tour, and unique partnerships with teen influencers and trendsetters.
"About 80 percent of all smokers have their first cigarettes before age 18, and every day about 1,000 youth become daily smokers," said Dr. Healton. "This year's Monitoring the Future data validates the collective work of the public health community in highlighting the tobacco epidemic in our country. We must continue to educate and fund campaigns like truth to get the facts about tobacco use and its consequences to our young people."
Legacy is dedicated to building a world where young people reject tobacco and anyone can quit. Located in Washington, D.C., the foundation develops programs that address the health effects of tobacco use, especially among vulnerable populations disproportionately affected by the toll of tobacco, through grants, technical assistance and training, partnerships, youth activism, and counter-marketing and grassroots marketing campaigns. The foundation's programs include truth®, a national youth smoking prevention campaign that has been cited as contributing to significant declines in youth smoking; EX®, an innovative public health program designed to speak to smokers in their own language and change the way they approach quitting; research initiatives exploring the causes, consequences and approaches to reducing tobacco use; and a nationally-renowned program of outreach to priority populations. Legacy was created as a result of the November 1998 Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) reached between attorneys general from 46 states, five U.S. territories and the tobacco industry. Visit www.legacyforhealth.org.
SOURCE Legacy
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