Hawai`i Youth Tobacco Use Drops
Teenagers in Hawai`i are smoking fewer cigarettes today than they did in 2000, according to a survey of public school students in grades six through 12.
The Lt. Governor speaks to reporters at a news conference on attitudes of Hawai`i teens towards smoking.
The smoking rate among middle school students in Hawai‘i fell from 38.4 percent in 2000 to 14.7 percent in 2007. For high school students, the smoking rate plunged from 63.3 percent in 2000 to 38.3 percent in 2007.
“I am very proud that more of Hawai‘i youth are making the right decision not to smoke,” Lt. Governor Aiona said Monday, when announcing the results of the Youth Tobacco Survey during a news conference at the State Capitol.
The survey, conducted every two years, is jointly administered by the state Department of Education and the state Department of Health.
The survey’s results reflect a nearly decade-long decline in teen smoking across the state. That trend is helped by Hawai‘i’s cigarette tax rate, which is among the highest in the nation.
- Watch the news conference.
