New York City teen smoking rate down

NEW YORK, Jan. 3 (UPI) -- Cigarette smoking among New York City teens declined by 20 percent from 2005 to 2007, a government report said.

The city's teen smoking rate has dropped by more than half over the past six years, from 17.6 percent in 2001 to 8.5 percent in 2007, which far exceeds the national decline, the report said.

New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas R. Frieden said in statement that they credited the decline to the city's sustained efforts to reduce smoking among adults, which include a tax increase, the smoke-free workplace law and TV and subway ads that graphically depict the realities of tobacco-related illnesses.

"In 2001, roughly one out of every six high school students smoked. Today, that has fallen to about one out of every 12 -- or about 8.5 percent of students," Bloomberg said in a statement. "The reduction in teen smoking we've achieved in New York City will eventually prevent at least 8,000 premature deaths."

The data for the report are based on results of the 2007 New York City Youth Risk Behavior Survey, a self-administered, anonymous questionnaire adapted for New York City from protocols developed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.