Teen Smoking Drops to Lowest Level

NACS Online
July 15, 2013

A new study reveals that cigarette smoking hit the lowest point ever recorded among American eighth-graders, high school sophomores and seniors in 2012.

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LOS ANGELES – A new report on the well-being of American children, compiled by the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics, found that cigarette smoking hit the lowest point ever recorded among American eighth-graders, high school sophomores and seniors in 2012, reports the Los Angeles Times.

Among the report’s finding:

In 2012, about 2% of 8th-graders, 5% of 10th-graders, and 9% of 12th-graders reported smoking cigarettes daily in the past 30 days — the lowest reported percentages among these students in the history of the survey (since 1980).

​The smoking rate starts to diverge by gender as children age: Among 10th-graders, 6% of male and 4% of female students reported daily smoking, and 11% of male and 7% of female 12th-grade students reported daily smoking in 2012.

Also in 2012, about 12% of White, non-Hispanic 12th-grade students reported smoking cigarettes daily in the past 30 days, compared with 5% of Black, non-Hispanic and 5% of Hispanic 12th-grade students.
U.S. kids are also less likely to be exposed to secondhand smoke. The percentage of children ages 4 to11 with any detectable level of blood cotinine, an indicator of recent exposure to secondhand smoke, declined from 53% in 2007–2008 to 42% in 2009–2010.

The report compiled research from government agencies and research groups, including the National Institute on Drug Abuse, which tracks cigarette smoking