A Prospective Study of Trends in Youth Smoking

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Abstract
To assess smoking trends of junior and senior high school youth, a prospective study was conducted over a two year period. A total of 10,565 subjects comprised the study population. The resultant data were analyzed by smoking behavior classification, grade level, and sex. Comparisons of smoking rates by matched and unmatched samples were also included. The findings supported the contention that behavioral patterns with respect to smoking and nonsmoking behavior are well established by the junior high school years. The authors maintain that from an educational point of view, smoking education programs must begin before the junior high school years. Educators need to recognize the characteristics of the target population to maximize the effect and efficiency of their educational programs.

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