The Wall Street Journal (12/16, A9, Mickle, Subscription Publication) reports that new results from the Monitoring the Future study from the University of Michigan and backed by the National Institutes of Health showed that daily cigarette smoking among high school students has dropped more than 50 percent over the last five years. Notably, the results showed that e-cigarette and marijuana use are now outpacing cigarette smoking for the first time.
USA Today (12/16, Maycan) reports that cigarette smoking “among teens hit an all-time low, but their fascination with e-cigarettes remains strong.” In the last month, 16 percent of 10th graders “said they used an e-cigarette and 7% said they used a tobacco cigarette,” while 17 percent of seniors reported e-cigarette use and 14 percent reported smoking a cigarette.
The New York Times (12/16, Schwarz, Subscription Publication) reports that “many students appear to be transitioning to e-cigarettes, which are unregulated and can contain nicotine and other harmful products,” according to Dr. Nora D. Volkow, the director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, which issued the report. In addition, for the first time, “the percentage of high school seniors who said they smoked marijuana daily (which remained steady at 6 percent) exceeded those who smoked traditional cigarettes daily (5.5 percent, a large drop from last year’s 6.7).”
Related Links:
— “Cigarette Smoking Down Among High School Students, Study Finds,” Tripp Mickle, Wall Street Journal, December 16, 2015.