Tobacco Documents Online

RICHMOND TiMES DISPATCH Richmond-, Va. April 1, 1967 I' Smoking Habits Said Almost Fixed at 15 By Beverly Orndorff Times-Dispatch Science Writer PALM BEACH-By the time a boy or girl becomes 15, his or her smoking habits-or intentions to become a cigarette smok- er later-have been "already almost fixed,"' a Harvard University epidemiologist reported here Friday. This Is based on a five-and-one-half year study of nearly 1,000 high school students in Newton, Mass., whose cigarette-smoking habits were surveyed first when they were 15, and' again when they were about 21. The survey's results were reported here Friday at a cancer seminar by Dr. Eva J. Salber of Harvard's School of Fublic) ~ealth. In addition to suggesting that the smoking habit has becomel rather well-established by age 15, the Salber study also indicated another fact about cigarette sipoking among young people: "It is obvious .., thLt general education and information about the harmful effects of smoking has produced little ;:hange since the surgeon general's report was published between the first and second survey. ..." she said. This referred to a great increase in the prevalence of smok- ing among the teen-agers between the first survey, when they were about 15, and the second& survey, when they were about 21. The prevalence almost doubled betweem the survey years of 1959 and 1965. The surgeon general's report came out in 1964. At 15, 35 per cent: the boys and 28 per cent of the girls were smokers. About five years later, 63 per cent of the boys and 55 per cent' of the girls were smoking. There also was an increase in the amount smoked, according to Dr. Salber. Parents' Habits Factor The most important factor associated with the students' smoking habits, according to the survey, was the smoking habits of their parents. It the parents smoked, there appeare& to be a tendency for the students to smoke, too. More generally, Dr. Salber said, "It would appear from this study that by age 15 those students who smoked are likely to continue smoking, those who have stopped are likely to resume and those who have not yet started have already made up their minds whether they will start in the future or not." In the adult world, according to another speaker here Friday ~here are indications that smoking patterns are changing. Dr. Ashbel C. Williams, president of the American Cancei Society, said that in a study of a half-million men and women smokers, conducted between 1959 and 1965, there was a 21 per cent decrease in cigarette smoking among men, and a 12 per cent drop among women. . Public Health Service figures indicate there are presently 19 million former cigarette smokers In the United States, Dr. Williams said. 100304~cl ~l NEW YORK TIMES New York, Y. Y. April 1, 1967 SMOKING PATTERN IS FOUND BY AGE 15 Cancer Group Told of Study in Massachusetts School fpedai Se TU Nrw Tedc Tlmr PALM BEACH, P7a., March 31-A study of nearly 1,000 high school students has iadi- cated that youngsters have de- cided whether they will become smokers by the time they are 15 years old. Those who are already smok- ing at 15 are likely to continue and those who have tried It and stopped are likely to resume,, the study shows. The study was described here today by Dr. Eva J. Salber of the Harvard School of Public Health at the opening session of the ninth annual seminar for science writers sponsored by the American Cancer Society. Dr. Salber traced the smok- ing habits of students who were 10th graders at Newton (Mass.) High School in 1959. By 1965 she found that the prevalence of smoking amongg them had nearly doubled. "In 1959, when the average age was 15.5 years, 35 per cent of the boys and 28 per cent of the girls were smokers," Dr. Salber told the seminar. "In 1965, at an average age of 21 years, 63 per cent of the boys and 55 per cent of the girls were smoking." In addition, the youngsters had increased the amount that they smoked. "Male smokers increased ther consumption of cigarettes by 4.3 packs a week and girls by 4.6 packs a week to reach a level of 6.5 packs a week and 6 packs a week res- pectively," the Harvard doctor reported. Of those who said they had stopped smoking at age 15, 71 per cent later resumed smoking, Dr. Salber found. Apparently she said, the Sur- geon General's report In Janu- ary 1964 condemning cigarette smoking as a mjaor health hazard had little Influence on the youngsters' smoking habits. In the keynote address to the seminar, Dr. Ashbel C. Wi111aass, president of the Aatericaa Can- cer Society, said that although 19-million adult Americans had' given up cigarette smokthg,' "Youngsters in grade school and high school continue to coart lung cancer, heart disease and other cigarette-caused diseases to a discouraging degree." 15 ,3r