Survey finds big drop in Ind. teen smoking

INDIANAPOLIS – A new survey finds cigarette smoking among Indiana’s high school students has dropped by about 40 percent since 2000.

The Indiana Youth Tobacco Survey said 18.3 percent of the state’s high school students smoked last year, down from 31.6 percent at the start of the decade. The drop was even bigger among middle school students, falling from 9.8 percent in 2000 to 4.1 percent in
2008.

The Indiana Tobacco Prevention and Cessation agency’s report also found fewer than 10 percent of teens are established smokers, meaning they smoked on 20 of the past 30 days.

Agency Director Karla Sneegas told The Indianapolis Star that likely means fewer youths are becoming one- to two-pack-a-day smokers.