Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY- Smoking rates amont Utah teens have recently declined, and are much lower than national average rates possibly due to tobacco tax hikes, smoking bans, and mass media campaigns.
With 3.6 million middle and high school students that smoke across the nation, the U.S. Surgeon General's campaign is urging states to discourage youth smoking through high-impact interventions. And the state of Utah has responded to that call.
The youth smoking rate in Utah has dropped from 12 percent to 5.9 percent since 1999. Nationally, 19.5 percent of teens smoke. Part of this decline may be due to tax raises on cigarettes. The Utah Legislature approved a $1 per pack tax hike in 2010, and in recent years has also passed comprehensive tobacco control laws and funded effective programs statewide to keep tobacco products out of the hands of Utah youth.
Basically, the report says that the efforts Utah Lawmakers and anti-tobacco advocates have made over the years are working, and should be a model for the nation.
–- Utah Department of Health Executive Director Dr. David Patton.
"Basically, the report says that the efforts Utah Lawmakers and anti-tobacco advocates have made over the years are working, and should be a model for the nation," said Utah Department of Health executive director Dr. David Patton.
Over the last decade, illegal tobacco sales to underage youth decline by 64 percent. At 5.7 percent, the rate of non-compliance is at its lowest recorded level. The 2010 tax hike also brought the sales of cigarettes per capita down from 26.7 packs to 22.3 packs in 2011, making it the largest one- year decline since 1997.
"Studies show that when cigarettes get more expensive, teens stop buying them," said Amy Sands, the Utah Department of Health Tobacco Prevention and Control Program manager. "We can thank lawmakers, as well as the efforts of our local health departments, educators, and parents for protecting the current and future health of our young people."
Despite the decline in youth smoking rates, more than 200,000 youth and adults in Utah continue to smoke. The tobacco industry also spends $60 million annually in Utah recruiting replacement smokers for the 1,150 who die from tobacco addiction each year.
"We have intention to continue our vigilance in protecting our children and addressing this leading cause of preventable death in Utah," says Sands. "Working together to implement the findings of this report we can further benefit the youth and young adults of Utah."
