Tobacco use remains the leading preventable cause of death in the United States, and most people who become regular cigarette smokers begin smoking during adolescence. State antitobacco programs, especially those with strong media campaigns, have been a large factor in the steady dip in adolescent smoking rates over the last seven years.
But state budget crises may reverse this trend. After Minnesota reduced annual funding for tobacco control programs from $23.7 million to $4.6 million in July 2003, ending the youth media campaign begun in 2000, "susceptibility" to smoking of adolescents 12 to 17 years of age increased in all age groups and both sexes (from 43.3% to 52.9%). Susceptibility was determined by the youths' responses to the statement, "You will smoke a cigarette in the next year." Any response less emphatic than "strongly disagree" was considered an indication of susceptibility.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Preven tion, Massachusetts experi enced a rise in illegal tobacco sales to minors after funding for that state's antitobacco program was cut. -Ellen McLaughlin and Doug Brandt
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2004;53(14):301-4.