Teen Cigarette Smoking Down, Other Tobacco Use Steady

Cigarette smoking rates among high school students in the U.S. has reached its lowest levels since 1991, but use of other tobacco products has not changed significantly, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). These findings were published in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).

Data from the 2013 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) showed that 41.1% of students reported ever smoking a cigarette, a significant decrease from 70.1% in 1991 when the survey began. Currently, 15.7% of students reported smoking cigarettes on at least 1 day during the 30 days prior to the survey, which has remained unchanged since 2011. The percentage of students smoking 20 or more days during the 30 days prior to the survey did not change significantly from 2011 (6.4%) to 2013 (5.6%), as well as current smokeless tobacco use (7.7% in 2011 vs. 8.8% in 2013) and cigar use (13.1% in 2011 vs. 12.6% in 2013).

Although the teen smoking rate now meets the national Healthy People 2020 target of reducing teen cigarette use to 16% or less, the increase in other forms of tobacco products such as hookah and electronic cigarettes remains a concern.

For more information call (888) 232-6348 or visit CDC.gov.

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