More work needs to be done to keep young Americans from using tobacco, including creating smoking bans and increasing taxes on tobacco products to deter youth. That's according to a new report from the U.S. Surgeon General.
Locally, several groups are taking aim at tobacco, launching a media blitz to spread the word about the dangers of cigarettes and other tobacco products.
New York State's Tobacco Control Programs, including Reality Check and Tobacco Free Onondaga County, hope to educate people that in-store tobacco product displays are a form of marketing which impacts youth smoking. Research shows the more kids see tobacco marketing, the more likely they are to start smoking. "When I go into a convenience store, I feel like I have a target on my back," said Tegan Gorman, a student at Cicero North Syracuse High School. "In-store tobacco ads are placed at kid's eye level, often near toys, candy and snacks. Tobacco companies see me, and even kids younger than me, as their next generation of smokers."
The report also examined advertising and promotional activities by tobacco companies, which have been shown to "cause the onset and continuation of smoking adolescents and young adults." Tobacco companies have spent increasing amounts of money on marketing efforts to reduce prices, which health officials said in the report could influence access to price-sensitive youth and make cigarettes more affordable. Nearly $10 billion was spent in 2008 on cigarette marketing by the nation's five biggest tobacco companies, a 48 percent increase from what was spent in 1998, when some of the companies agreed with state attorneys general to curtail or stop some of their marketing efforts. "Exposure to tobacco marketing in stores is a primary cause of youth smoking so we need to take action to protect our kids," said Elizabeth Toomey, Coordinator for the Reality Check program in Onondaga, Oswego, and Cayuga Counties. "One way to reduce kids' exposure to tobacco marketing is to prohibit the display of tobacco products in all retail establishments to which minors have access."
According to the Surgeon General's report, it's particularly important to stop young people from using tobacco because those who start smoking as teenagers can increase their chances of long-term addiction. They also quickly can develop reduced lung function, early heart disease and other health problems.
Did you know that more than 80 percent of smokers begin by age 18, and 99 percent of adult smokers in the U.S. start by age 26? "In order to end this epidemic, we need to focus on where we can prevent it and where we can see the most effect, and that's with young people," said Surgeon General Regina Benjamin. "We want to make our next generation tobacco-free, and I think we can."
The report recommends anti-smoking campaigns and increased restrictions under the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's authority to regulate tobacco as other ways to prevent adolescents and young adults from using tobacco products.
Since a report issued in 1994, smoking among high school students has declined from 27.5 percent to 19.5 percent, or about 3 million students, but the rate of decline has slowed in recent years. About 5.2 percent, or 600,000 middle school students also are current smokers. According to the report, every day in the U.S., more than 3,800 people under the age of 18 smoke their first cigarette and more than 1,000 of them become daily smokers. They replace the 1,200 people who die each day in the U.S. from smoking.
Over the last decade, New York has made big progress in its efforts to reduce youth smoking. In 2010, 12.6 percent of high school students smoked compared to 2000 when 27.1 percent were smokers - a reduction of more than half. But more still needs to be done.
If you don't think this is a serious problem, consider these statistics:
- Smoking kills more than 1,200 Americans every day.
- Every tobacco-related death is replaced by two new smokers under the age of 25.
- Tobacco marketing is a key factor in causing young people to start using tobacco, and nicotine addiction keeps them using it.
- More than $1 million an hour is spent on marketing tobacco products in this country and 99% of all new smokers come from youth and young adult populations who are enticed to smoke by this marketing.
Do you worry about tobacco companies marketing their products to your kids? What can be done to prevent young people from lighting up? Have you ever smoked? What impact has it had on your life? Leave your thoughts below.
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Information from the Associated Press used in this article.
