STUDY FINDS A SHARP RISE IN SMOKING AMONG COLLEGE STUDENTS

Washington

The smoking rate among students at four-year colleges rose by 28 per
cent from 1993 to 1997, fueled in part by an increase in adolescent
smoking in the 1990s, according to a study released Tuesday.

The smoking study, which appears in today's issue of The Journal of
the American Medical Association, is part of the Harvard School of
Public Health's College Alcohol Study. The project tracks drinking,
smoking, and other high-risk behaviors of students at four-year
colleges in the United States.

All student groups, regardless of age, sex, race, ethnicity, or year
in college, were smoking more, the study found. The smoking rate
increased at 99 of the 116 colleges in the study, and smoking grew
faster at public colleges than at private ones, said Henry Wechsler,
the director of College Alcohol Studies for the School of Public
Health and a co-author of the study.

Mr. Wechsler said that the higher smoking rates could increase the
incidence of severe health problems as the current college population
ages.

"Unless this problem is checked, it will say much about the future
health of this country," he said in a news conference here Tuesday.

The authors of the study said it showed alarming evidence that college
students were not as resistant to the lure of smoking as they once
were. In previous studies, students were less likely to smoke than
adults or peers who were not in college. In the new study, however, 25
per cent of the students surveyed said that they had become regular
smokers while they were in college.

The researchers said that the more that students smoked, the more that
other students who may have experimented with cigarettes in high
school were encouraged to become regular smokers because they thought
it was the norm.

"As more teens start smoking, more smokers are going to college, and
that sort of feeds on itself," said William D. Novelli, president of
the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, a private organization that aims
to reduce tobacco use among children and young adults.

The researchers attributed the jump in student smoking to increased
tobacco use among children and adolescents. They lambasted tobacco
companies for targeting children by using cartoon characters, such as
Joe Camel, to sell their products.

"The young person who saw Joe Camel at age 8 is now smoking at age
18," said William Mahood, a member of the Board of Trustees of the
American Medical Association.

The study compared the responses of 14,521 college students surveyed
in 1997 with 15,103 surveyed in 1993. Researchers polled students at
116 colleges in 39 states.

Although the study found across-the-board increases in smoking, some
colleges and groups had lower smoking rates than others. For instance,
Asian, black, and Hispanic students had lower smoking rates than white
students. Seniors and fifth-year students reported smoking less than
freshmen, sophomores, and juniors did. And some colleges -- including
commuter colleges, defined as institutions at which 90 per cent or
more of the students live off campus, and "highly-competitive"
colleges -- showed a lower prevalence of smoking.

The researchers said there was hope for college smokers, however. The
study found that half of all college smokers had tried to quit in the
previous year, compared with 30 per cent of adults not in college.

Nancy Rigotti, director of Tobacco Research and Treatment at
Massachusetts General Hospital, and a co-author of the study, said
that college health officials should take advantage of that statistic
by offering smoking-cessation and outreach programs both to
"full-time" and occasional smokers.

Dr. Rigotti said that colleges must discourage smoking by making
dormitories and other public places smoke-free. "Smoke-free areas not
only eliminate secondhand smoke," she said. "They limit the visibility
and accessibility of cigarettes around those who are trying to quit or
are still only occasional smokers."

She said that raising the price of cigarettes on and near campuses
also would deter smoking.

Background stories from The Chronicle:

"A Tobacco Company Ends Voluntary Ban on Advertising in Student
Newspapers," 5/1/98 "Students Engage in Behavior Posing Serious Health
Risks, CDC Study Finds," 9/5/97

For a new essay by Mr. Wechsler on a related topic, see:

"Getting Serious About Eradicating Binge Drinking," 11/20/98

Checked-by: Patrick Henry