Student smoking rate drops, but a third of young adults smoke

CHAPEL HILL -- Cigarette use by North Carolina high school and middle school students has significantly decreased since the state began financing tobacco-use prevention and cessation initiatives for teens in 2003, according to UNC-Chapel Hill researchers.

Cigarette use dropped 30.4 percent among high school students between 2003 and 2007, compared with a decline of 13.6 percent between 1999 and 2003, according to a report released Tuesday. The decrease appears strongly related to the statewide prevention and cessation initiatives, the researchers said.

The report also notes that nearly a third of young adults ages 18 to 24 still smoke in North Carolina and that the rate is higher among those who aren't in college.

The N.C. Health and Wellness Trust Fund spends $17 million a year on tobacco-use prevention and cessation programs aimed at teens and college students. The fund was established with North Carolina's share of tobacco lawsuit settlement money.