SMOKE OUT

Tobacco, Marijuana Trend Lines Headed in Opposite Directions

Two recent reports on smoking describe two very different trends.

When it comes to tobacco, a state Health and Human Services Agency
survey released last Monday found that more and more California
residents are kicking the habit. The rate of decline is more than
double the national average, and California's incidence of lung
cancer has fallen three times as fast as the national average.

When it comes to teenagers, however, a survey funded by the National
Institute on Drug Abuse found that a decline in cigarette smoking has
been eclipsed by an increase in marijuana smoking. The national
survey was released Dec. 14.

Among high school seniors, 21.4 percent reported smoking marijuana,
compared to 19.2 percent who said they smoke cigarettes. About one in
16 said they smoke pot daily.

The study also found growing use of marijuana use by younger teens
and even 'tweens. Sixteen percent of eighth-graders said they had
smoked pot in the past year, about 10 percent more than in last year's survey.

While the results are alarming, perhaps they're not so surprising.

The message about tobacco is unambiguous: It can kill you. Stark new
warning labels on cigarette packages reinforce that message.
California has sponsored effective anti-tobacco ads for nearly 20
years. Remember the 1997 spot featuring a Debi Austin, a lifelong
smoker, puffing through her tracheotomy incision? If you don't, the
state is revisiting her in a new ad.

It's little wonder that just 13 percent of Californians smoke
cigarettes, down 42 percent since 1988, according to the state's
survey data. Regrettably, the number is higher in Sonoma County,
which at 16.4 percent, is the worst in the Bay Area.

Messages about marijuana are murkier.

In November, voters rejected a measure to legalize marijuana for
recreational use. But Dr. Nora D. Volkow, director of the National
Institute on Drug Abuse, said medical marijuana is a factor in rising
use among teens, and she's probably right. No, kids aren't smoking
pot to combat text anxiety. But they're certainly aware that the
flimsiest claim is enough to qualify under Proposition 215, the
state's overly permissive medical marijuana law.

Looking for goals in the new year? If you smoke, stop. If you believe
marijuana has medical value - and we do - support efforts to define
those values and establish guidelines for doctors to follow in
recommending marijuana as they would any other medicine.