Are teens smoking more? Are they smoking less? What exactly are teens smoking and how often? Are all the crazy anti-smoking ads working? Or are they just funny?

All these questions and more are answered in "Youth Tobacco Surveillance --- United States, 2000" (the mother of all teen smoking surveys). The report was published this month in the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. And just so your head doesn't start swimming with all the stats, we'll break it down for you:

	• Tobacco smoking is the leading preventable cause of death in the US; 430,000 people die every year. • Smoking among high school students increased during the 1990's, peaking in 1996-97, and has been on the decline since then. • 80 percent of all smokers start before they turn 18. If this continues, 5 million kids, 18 and younger, will die prematurely because they started smoking. • Teen smokers mostly smoke cigarettes, followed by cigars and then smokeless tobacco. • 34.4 percent of high school students and 15.1 percent of middle school students use some form of tobacco. • 69 percent of middle school students and 58 percent of high school students under the age of 18 who currently smoke were not asked for ID when they bought or tried to buy cigarettes.

The report was compiled from 29 state surveys and a national survey of 35,828 students in 324 schools, in 2000. As a result of the report, the CDC strongly recommends that states do all they can to prevent young people from starting tobacco use.

The report's release is timed to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the Great American Smokeout, this Thursday, November 15. Ironically, that campaign is targeted toward adults.

--By Heather Keets Wright

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