Teen Smoking Rates

Teen smoking rates in New Jersey are higher than adult smoking rates, and certain forms of tobacco product use are on the rise in the teen population, especially hookah smoking and smokeless tobacco use. Read this August 6, 2012 news article about a recent study that found a correlation between starting smoking at a younger age and a genetic susceptibility to heavy smoking as an adult.

Read a November 14, 2012 article about a survey conducted by Legacy and Seventeen magazine, which found that nearly one-in-ten teen girls in the United States are current smokers, but a majority of them want to quit. Researchers surveyed teen girls on their behavior, attitudes and opinions about quitting smoking, and found that 70 percent of these teen smokers want to quit.

Both the federal and state health departments track the teen smoking rates in New Jersey. Below are the findings of their most recent reports.

In June 2012, The U.S. Centers for Disease Control released the results of their 2011 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey. The findings showed that smoking rates by New Jersey high school teens (grade 9-12) declined slightly from 2009 to 2011:

• In 2011, 40.6% of teens tried cigarette smoking vs. 42.5% in 2009.
• In 2011, 16.1% of teens smoked cigarettes on at least 1 day during the 30 days before the survey, vs. 17% in 2009.
• In 2011, 4.9% of teens smoked cigarettes on 20 or more days during the 30 days before the survey, vs. 5.5% in 2009.

The New Jersey Department of Health’s 2008 New Jersey Youth Tobacco Survey: A Statewide Report published in 2011 showed:

• 37.1% of high school teens and 11.9% of middle school teens have ever tried cigarette smoking
• 48.7% of high school teens and 21.2% of middle school teens tried any type of tobacco (cigarette, cigar, smokeless tobacco, bidis, hookah).
• 26.1% of high school teens and 9.5% of middle school teens tried cigar smoking.
• 17.9% of high school teens and 5.5% of middle school teens tried hookah smoking.
• 11.4% of high school teens and 4.8 of middle school teens tried smokeless tobacco.
• 9.1% of high school teens and 4.0% of middle school teens tried bidis.
• 14.3% of high school teens and 2.8% of middle school teens smoked cigarette more than once during the 30 days preceding the survey.
• 23.3% of high school teens and 7.7% of middle school teens smoked a tobacco product more than once in the 30 days.
• 9.7% of high school teens and 4.1% of middle school teens smoked hookah more than once in the 30 days.
• 9.1% of high school teens and 2.4% of middle school teens smoked cigars more than once in the 30 days.
• 8.7% of high school teens and 4.6% of middle school teens smoked bidis more than once in the 30 days.
• 5.0% of high school teens and 4.2% of middle school teens used smokeless tobacco more than once in the 30 days.