Cigarette Use Among High School Students—United States, 1991–2009

July 9, 2010 / Vol. 59 / No. 26

MMWR Introduction

Analyses of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's national Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) found that the prevalence of current cigarette use among high school students began to decline after a peak in the late 1990s, but the rate of decline slowed during 2003—2009. Effective strategies to increase the rate of decline in cigarette use among high school students include expanded counter-advertising mass media campaigns; reductions in tobacco advertising, promotions, and availability of tobacco products; tobacco-free environments; programs that promote changes in social norms; and higher prices for tobacco products through increases in excise taxes.