Full Text: 2011 Hawaii Youth Tobacco Survey

From Hawaii Department of Health

Overview

The Hawaii Youth Tobacco Survey (HYTS) is a module of the Hawaii School Health Survey administered to public school students in grades 6-12 throughout Hawaii in odd-numbered years. This report presents a summary of the results from 2011. More detailed data tables for the state including prevalence by sex, grade and race/ethnicity, 95% confidence intervals and population estimates can be found at the Hawaii Health Data Warehouse (www.hhdw.org).

The overall impact of tobacco on the lives of Hawaii’s youth has declined from 2000 to 2011. Fewer teens have experimented with using any form of tobacco and fewer teens are current smokers. Tobacco use, especially cigarette use, has declined dramatically as has exposure to secondhand smoke.

Prevalence

Lifetime cigarette use (ever smoked even one or two puffs) has decreased by over half in high school students (HS) from 63.3% in 2000 to 30.2% in 2011, and in middle school students (MS) from 21.1% in 2003 to 15.2% in 2011. Current smoking (in the past 30 days) among HS students decreased by over 60% from 24.5% in 2000 to 8.7% in 2011. Frequent smoking (on 20 or more of the past 30 days) was reduced over 70% from 10.3% in 2000 to 2.9% in 2011. Among MS students, current smoking declined from 5.3% in 2003 to 3.6% in 2011 and only 0.7% of MS students reported frequent smoking in 2011.

Lifetime cigar smoking has decreased by over 50% among HS students from 27.5% in 2000 to 13.2% in 2011 and by almost 40% among MS students from 8.7% in 2003 to 5.3% in 2011.

Lifetime smokeless tobacco use (chewing tobacco, snuff, or dip) among HS students has decreased by over 50% from 10.4% in 2000 to 4.9% in 2011 and by almost 60% among MS students from 8.0% to 3.3%.

In 2011, students were asked if they had ever tried selected new forms of tobacco: 12.8% of HS and 2.6% of MS students report having smoked hookah1, 5.1% of HS and 1.8% of MS students have tried e-cigarettes, and 1.2% of HS and 0.9% of MS students have tried snus1.

Access

Fewer smokers under the age of 18 years are able to purchase cigarettes at stores. Only 10.3% of HS and 2.5% of MS smokers under 18 years of age usually buy their own cigarettes at a store, down from 25.9% and 3.2%, respectively. In 2011 no students reported vending machines as a usual source of cigarettes. The proportion of smokers less than 18 years of age who bought cigarettes from a grocery store or drug store in the past 30 days was too small to estimate among MS or HS current smokers. However, among HS current smokers 23.0% reported buying cigarettes from a gas station and 27.8% from a convenience store in the past 30 days—the sales to MS smokers were too small to produce reliable estimates at these venues. In 2011, 7.0% of HS current smokers reported buying cigarettes from a lunch wagon or manapua truck in the past 30 days, compared to 12.6% in 2005.

Sales from unregulated venues remain a concern as 77.6% of MS and 35.5% of HS current smokers report buying cigarettes somewhere other than a gas station, convenience store, grocery store, drugstore, vending machine or the Internet in the past month. Additionally, 33.9% of MS and 15.0% of HS students report that they usually buy their cigarette individually or loose.

Schools

Cigarette smoking on campus by students has decreased. Classroom education about tobacco use has increased among MS students, but decreased among HS students. Only 3.4% of HS students and 1.7 % of MS reported smoking on campus in the past month in 2011 (from 12.2% and 5.8% in 2000). Smokeless tobacco use on campus in the past month remained low, 1.3% of MS and 2.2% of HS students. The proportion of MS students who were taught at school about the dangers of tobacco in class this school year increased from 55.6% in 2003 to 67.3% in 2011, while the proportion of HS students decreased from 50.9% in 2000 to 44.8% in 2011.

Cessation

Most students who do smoke now have tried to quit in the past year, but many have been unable to stay off cigarettes for over 30 days and few have participated in cessation programs.

76.9% of MS and 61.9% of HS current smokers have tried to quit in the past year. 41.0 % of HS and 51.7% of MS and smokers were unable to abstain from cigarettes for one month during their last attempt. Only 32.2% of MS tobacco users and 16.6% of HS have ever participated in a program to help them quit.

Perceptions, Beliefs and Social Influences Only 26.5% of MS and 30.5% of HS students think that smokers have more friends The proportion of students who believe that smoking makes young people look cool or fit in has declined to 9.5% among MS students and 8.6% among HS students from 14.1% and 14.6%, respectively, However, 86.1% of MS and 83.6% of HS overestimate the number of smokers in their grade level. Fewer students report having a best friend who smokes cigarettes from 53.1% in 2000 in HS to 35.6% in 2011, and from 24.8% in MS in 2003 to 20.4% in 2011.

Adult Counsel on Smoking

While 3 out of 5 students have talked to the parents or guardians about tobacco use in the past year, the proportion is decreasing. Few students report having their smoking status assessed by a healthcare provider or being advised not to smoke. The proportion of students who report discussing tobacco use with their parents or guardians in the past year has declined slightly in HS from 63.3% in 2000 to 60.7% in 2011, and more dramatically in MS from 74.2% in 2003 to 66.9% in 2011. In the past 12 months, only 13.2% of MS and 31.7% of HS students reported being asked by a doctor, dentist, nurse or other health professional if they smoked cigarettes. Roughly 28% of MS and HS students were advised to not smoke by a health professional in the past 12 months.

Media

Students report seeing fewer anti-smoking (counter-marketing) commercials or ads, but also report seeing slightly fewer ads for tobacco in stores. While 70.8% of HS and 62.4% of MS students have seen or heard an anti-tobacco ad in the past month, the proportion who report daily exposure has decreased from 38.5% in 2003 to 21.8% in 2011 among MS students and from 40.7% in 2000 to 23.6% in 2011 among HS students. 71.6% of MS and 75.3% of HS students report seeing advertisements for tobacco on items in local stores, down from 75.7% in 2003 MS and 82.4% in 2000 HS.

Second hand smoke (SHS)

Exposure to second hand smoke (SHS) in the past week has continued to decrease and more students report smoking is not allowed in their homes or cars. Only 44.4% of HS and 34.6% of MS students reported being exposed to SHS in a room in 2011, down from 68.1% in 2000 and 40.0% in 2003, respectively. Only 27.4% of HS and 25.7% of MS students reported being exposed to SHS in a car in 2011, a decrease from 49.4% in 2000 and 33.0% in 2003, respectively. SHS exposure in a room or car in the past 7 days dropped from 73.6% in 2000 to 49.3% in 2011 among HS students and from 48.9% in 2003 to 40.7% in 2011 among MS students. The proportion of students who reported smoking was never allowed in their home increased from 76.4% in 2007 to 82.0% in 2011 among MS students and from 77.3% to 82.7% among HS students. 78.6% of MS and HS students report that smoking is not allowed inside the vehicle they ride in or drive the most. While only 8.5% of MS and 19.7% of HS students report working during the past year, 60.0% of MS and 57.6% of HS students who work report that smoking is not allowed in their work area. 29.1% of MS and 30.2% of HS students who work report being exposed to cigarette smoke at work in the past 7 days in 2011. This is an increase from 14.6% and 25.9%, respectively in 2007.

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FULL TEXT: 2011 Hawai'i Youth Tobacco Survey

SA: Smoking among Hawaii high school students reaches new low