Teen smoking

THE ISSUE

A state survey of high school students shows that fewer teenagers are smoking - a sign that education programs about the dangers of tobacco use are working.

There's some good news coming out of Alabama high schools these days, and it's not just academic news. A survey of students found that fewer teenagers are smoking than in the past.

In the 2008 Youth Tobacco Survey, 22.1 percent of high school students say they smoke. That's down from 27 percent in the 2006 survey. Nationally, just under 22 percent of of students age 14 to 18 smoke, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Office of Smoking and Health.

Peer pressure is often the source of most teenagers' decision to begin smoking. By using peers to counter the pressure, the state has hit upon a winning formula that should be expanded to all public schools. The Youth Empowerment Program is a peer-teaching model that provides anti-tobacco messages to more than 58,000 teens, said Don Williamson, Alabama's state health officer. The state funds community groups to educate people about the dangers of second-hand smoke and to encourage young people to reject tobacco use. The state Health Department also has a new teen cessation project that uses advertising on television and radio, as well as a MySpace page.

Alabama also uses a public health Life Skills program for sixth-graders in some schools. It has proved to be effective in reducing the risks of alcohol, tobacco and drug abuse, Williamson said.

These programs are showing results, borne out by the latest teen smoking survey. The Legislature should find more money to expand these programs to every school in the state. They will save not only public health dollars in the future, but lives as well. That's a sound investment by any standard.