Cigarette use among adolescents in the U.S. has dropped substantially. That’s according to a new study that followed smoking among students in grades 9-12 from 1991 to 2021.
"This is important because cigarette smoking has been associated with so many diseases including cardiovascular disease and cancer," said Florida Atlantic University professor Yiota Kitsantas, one of the study's researchers.
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Kitsantas said public health campaigns should continue, as well as policies like higher tobacco taxes, smoke-free areas and older legal ages for buying cigarettes.
"Smoking among adolescents is still a critical problem, especially now [with] e-cigarette use," said Kitsantas, who chairs FAU's Population Health and Social Medicine Department. "We just have to keep working to ensure that we have a healthier youth because they’re our future."
The findings are available online in the Ochsner Journal, which published the study.
