High School Smoking Prevalence Continues Downward Trend
Smoking prevalence among public high school students in Delaware continues to decline. In 2005, the prevalence reached the lowest level in the state since the Department of Education began collecting Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) data in 1995. The YRBS is conducted in odd-numbered years by the Delaware Department of Education in cooperation with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"Current smoking," defined as any smoking during the past 30 days, has decreased among high school students from 35% in 1997 to 21.2% in 2005. Additional YRBS data about tobacco use are reported below:
| % | Smoking-Related Behavior |
|---|---|
| 21.2% | Percent of public high school students who smoked during past month |
| 19.7% | ▪ Percent of male students who smoked |
| 22.8% | ▪ Percent of female students who smoked |
| 21.2% | National median |
| 9.6% | Percent of high school students who are frequent smokers (smoked on 20 or more of the past 30 days) |
| 9.4% | ▪ Percent of males who are frequent smokers |
| 9.8% | ▪ Percent of females who are frequent smokers |
| 8.8% | National median |
| 15% | Percent of high school students who smoke more than 10 cigarettes a day on days they smoke |
| 23.1% | ▪ Percent of male smokers who smoke >10 a day |
| 7.5% | ▪ Percent of female smokers who smoke >10 a day |
| 10.5% | National median |
| 53.5% | Percent of high school smokers who tried to quit smoking in past year |
| 20.4% | Percent of high school smokers who bought cigarettes in a store or gas station |
| 5.1% | Percent of high school students who use smokeless tobacco |
| 11.3% | Percent of high school students who used cigars, cigarillos or little cigars on one or more the past 30 days |
Source: "Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance—2005," Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) Surveillance Summaries, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 55:SS-5, June 9, 2006.
