Tobacco use among high school students--United States, 1997.

Tobacco Use Among High School Students — Continued Tobacco use is the single leading preventable cause of death in the United States (1). Approximately 80% of tobacco use occurs for the first time among youth aged <18 years (2), and the prevalence of cigarette smoking among adolescents increased during the early 1990s (3). To determine prevalence rates of cigarette, smokeless tobacco (chewing tobacco or snuff), and cigar use for U.S. high school students, CDC analyzed data from the 1997 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS). This report summarizes the results of the analysis, which indicate that the prevalence of current cigarette smoking among U.S. high school students increased from 27.7% of students used cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, or cigars during the 30 days preceding the survey. YRBS, a component of CDC's Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (4), bienni-ally measures the prevalence of priority health-risk behaviors among youth through representative national, state, and local surveys. The 1997 national YRBS used a three-stage cluster sample design to obtain a representative sample of 16,262 students in grades 9–12 in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The school response rate was 79.1%, the student response rate was 87.2%, and the overall response rate was 69.0%. Data were weighted to provide national estimates, and SUDAAN ® (Software for the Statistical Analysis of Correlated Data) was used to calculate standard errors for determining 95% confidence intervals.* Students completed a self-administered questionnaire that included questions about cigarette, smokeless tobacco, and cigar use. Lifetime cigarette smokers were defined as students who had ever smoked cigarettes, even one or two puffs. Current cigarette, smokeless tobacco, and cigar users were defined as students who reported product use on ≥1 of the 30 days preceding the survey. Frequent cigarette use was defined as smoking cigarettes on ≥20 of the 30 days preceding the survey. Any current tobacco use was defined as use of cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, or cigars on ≥1 of the 30 days preceding the survey. Data are presented only for non-Hispanic black, non-Hispanic white, and Hispanic students because the numbers of students from other racial/ethnic groups were too small for meaningful analysis. *Differences between prevalence estimates were considered statistically significant if the 95% confidence intervals did not overlap. Use of trade names and commercial sources is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by CDC and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.