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Teenagers in New York City are lighting up less frequently than they used to. In fact, they are smoking much less than the national average according to a report in the New York Times. This is good news for a number of different reasons.
New York has often been a forerunner for the nation. The fact that fewer teens are smoking is a move in the right direction. The drop of tobacco use among teenagers is attributed mainly to the curbs on smoking in public areas and the skyrocketing taxes on cigarettes which adds around $3.00 to the price of each pack.
Among ninth to twelfth graders surveyed, the number of smokers dropped from 17.6 percent in 2001 to 8.5 percent in 2007. The national average among teens is currently around 23 percent.
The drop is also credited to an aggressive attack on businesses selling cigarettes to minors. In a program called Youth Tobacco and Prevention, the department of consumer affairs hires teenagers to try to buy cigarettes illegally within the view of public inspectors. The crackdown has obviously had an effect.
Whatever the reason behind the decline, it’s a move in the right direction. Our society seems to be slowly moving away from it’s addiction to nicotine, but the battle is far from over.
Talking with your teens openly about the dangers of cigarettes is the best defensive. Let’s hope that this trend away from tobacco use continues and spreads to other parts of our world.
Stay Healthy.
Tags: cigarettes, New York, nicotine, smoking, teen smoking, tobacco
