Schools
The majority of daily smokers began smoking before 18 years of age and more than 3,000 young persons begin smoking each day. In Connecticut, more than 58,000 middle and high school students smoke cigarettes. School programs designed to prevent tobacco use could become one of the most effective strategies available to reduce tobacco use in the US.
By experimenting with tobacco, young persons place themselves at risk for nicotine addiction. In Connecticut, more than 21,000 middle and high school students smoked their first cigarette before the age of 11. Persons who start smoking early have more difficulty quitting, are more likely to become heavy smokers and are more likely to develop a smoking-related disease. Based on teen smoking rates in 1999-2000, it is estimated that nearly 84,000 Connecticut youth are projected to die as adults from smoking-related diseases.
Schools are ideal settings in which to provide tobacco use prevention programs to all children and adolescents. School-based tobacco prevention education programs that focus on skills training approaches have proven effective in reducing the onset of smoking.
School-based programs offer an opportunity to prevent the initiation of tobacco use and therefore help persons avoid the difficulties of trying to stop after they are addicted to nicotine.
School-based programs to prevent tobacco use can make a substantial contribution to the health of the next generation.
ftp://ftp.cdc.gov/pub/Publications/mmwr/rr/rr4302.pdf
Youth Tobacco Survey
The Connecticut Youth Tobacco Survey (CYTS) was conducted in the spring of 2000 and is the first ever comprehensive survey of tobacco use, access, cessation, knowledge and attitudes, and exposure among Connecticut youth. Anonymous responses from a representative sample of 4,289 Connecticut public and private school students in grades 6-12 were weighted and analyzed for this report. The major content areas contained in the survey were: demographics, tobacco use prevalence, age of initiation, access to tobacco, school, cessation, knowledge and attitudes, mass media influences, and environmental tobacco smoke. The student responses were weighted based on probability of selection and to reflect the Connecticut student population. Responses were analyzed by school type (middle or high school), gender, race/ethnicity, and grade.
The findings in this document show that tobacco use is a substantial problem among Connecticut youth starting at an early age, regardless of gender, race, or ethnicity.
The report can be accessed at the following site:
http://www.dph.state.ct.us/Publications/BCH/HEI/tobacco_final.pdf
