Tobacco use still high among teens, CDC report says

One in 5 high school students reported using a tobacco product at least once within the past 30 days, and nearly half of them have tried a tobacco product at least once before, a nationwide study revealed.

The report released Friday by the Centers for Disease Control, showed that cigarettes continue to be the leading tobacco product of choice for teens, followed by cigars. Smokeless tobacco, hookah, e-cigarettes and pipes are also on the list.

Hookah and e-cigarette use among high school students was reported at 5.2 and 4.5 percent, respectively. About 11.9 percent of high school students reported using e-cigarettes at least once, and 3 percent of middle school students said they have tried an e-cigarette.

According to the report, in 2013, 22.9 percent of high school students reported using a tobacco product, and 12.6 percent reported using two or more products. The report also showed that 6.5 percent of middle school children have tried a tobacco product at least once.

The report is an analysis of data from the 2013 National Youth Tobacco Survey. The survey was distributed to 18,406 students in 250 different schools. Students were asked about their current and previous tobacco use.

High school students who identified as non-Hispanic white or Hispanic were more likely to list cigarettes as their product of choice, whereas cigar use was more common for all other ethnicities. Cigar use among non-Hispanic black students was nearly 50 percent higher than cigarette use.

The report, according to researchers, shows that continued efforts to reduce smoking prevalence are still needed.

According to the most recent data provided by the county and statewide archives of tobacco statistics, 14.2 percent of Merced’s youths reported that they smoke, as compared with the state’s average of 13.8 percent.

Officials at the Merced County Public Health Department have previously discussed with the Merced Sun-Star local efforts to reduce teen smoking.

“One of the things we’ve worked on in public health is trying to change the perception around smoking. We tried to change it so that smoking tobacco wouldn’t be perceived as cool,” said Stephanie Nathan, a supervising health educator at the Merced County Public Health. “But now you have these fruity, bubble gum-flavored tobacco products that come in colorful packages, and that attracts youth.”

According to the American Lung Association, 4 out of 5 smokers begin before the age of 18 – meaning youths are given access to a lifetime of respiratory diseases.

This story was originally published November 16, 2014 at 6:43 PM with the headline "Tobacco use still high among teens, CDC report says."