CDC: Florida's anti-smoking campaign appears to be working

The Associated Press

ATLANTA -- Smoking among middle school students in Florida dropped 19 percent in the year since the state launched an aggressive anti- tobacco campaign aimed at children, the federal government said Thursday.

The decline, which is larger than any nationally among youth since 1980, could indicate that the prevalence of teen smoking has peaked, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. The number of Florida middle school students who reported having smoked cigarettes declined from 18.5 percent in February 1998 to 15 percent in February 1999. Cigarette use among high schoolers dropped from 27.4 percent to 25.2 percent during the same period. The Florida Legislature last year allocated $70 million to vigorously enforce smoking age limits and for a series of TV and radio ads produced by teen-agers that poke fun at the tobacco industry. The program started last April. "These results show why every state should have a comprehensive program to reduce youth smoking and why I oppose any legislation waiving the federal government's claim to tobacco settlement funds without making a commitment from the states to fund such efforts," President Clinton said in a statement. Since Florida's program was implemented, cigar use among middle school students dropped from 14.1 percent to 11.9 percent, the CDC said. And fewer sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders are using smokeless tobacco -- 4.9 percent, down from 6.9 percent. Cigar and smokeless tobacco use dipped only slightly among high schoolers. After the tobacco industry reached a $206 billion settlement with states last November, the nation's two largest cigarette makers increased wholesale prices by 45 cents a pack. The CDC said the higher prices also may have lowered the rates of teen smoking. The study was based on 1998 and 1999 Florida Department of Health surveys of 20,000 public school students.

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