Statement of M. Cass Wheeler, CEO, American Heart Association on Centers For Disease Control and Prevention report on decline in smoking among nation's high school students

American Heart Association
Thursday, 16 May 2002

The new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report on youth smoking released today offers anti-smoking advocates and public health groups encouraging news that smoking among the nation's high school students has declined over the past five years.

The report, which also concludes that if declining smoking patterns remain consistent the nation could realize its national health objective of reducing smoking rates among high school students to 16 percent or less by 2010, is a testament to the impact and success of comprehensive tobacco programs, increased state excise taxes and smoke-free environments.

According to the report, the percentage of high school students who smoke dropped from 36.7 percent in 1997 to 28.5 percent now. It also stated that the percentage of students who tried cigarette smoking during their lives declined from 70.4 percent in 1999 to 63.9 percent in 2001.

While these statistics illustrate great progress, the fight to protect the health of our nation's youth from smoking-related addiction, disease and premature death is by no means over. We cannot afford to rest on our laurels while the cigarette companies continue to spend billions aggressively marketing their deadly products to our young people.

Each day, 5,000 kids try their first cigarette while another 2,000 kids become addicted. This is a deadly trend that most be stopped, especially when more than 400,000 Americans die from smoking-related illness, nearly half of those deaths the result of cardiovascular diseases.

States and public health groups must remain vigilant in their efforts to thwart the smoking epidemic among our nation's youth. This means that states must continue to advance on all tobacco control and prevention fronts. State Legislatures need to work to enact higher cigarette excise taxes, which will help decrease smoking, save lives and raise much needed funds for tobacco prevention.

Most of all, though, states with comprehensive tobacco control programs need to continue supporting them despite budgetary constraints and cutbacks while those states without these programs must begin to implement them so that their youth are protected as well.

Today's CDC report provides states and public health groups with a powerful and positive forecast for the future demise of youth smoking in this nation as long as we all remain committed to proven tobacco control and prevention efforts.

For more information, or to contact American Heart Association, see their website at: www.americanheart.org