CDC: More teens smoking flavored tobacco
(CNN) -- Use of tobacco in flavors like Dreamsicle and chocolate mint may be a growing problem among teenagers, according to a Centers for Disease Control report.
More than two out of every five middle- and high-school students who smoke report using flavored little cigars or flavored cigarettes, according to the report. And the bigger concern may be that the majority of the kids who smoke the flavored cigars -- some 60% -- say they don't plan to quit anytime soon (compared to 49% of all cigar smokers).
Smoking is still the leading cause of preventable disease and death in the United States.
The report was the CDC's first attempt to measure flavored little cigar and flavored cigarette use among kids. The data come from the 2011 National Youth Tobacco Survey.
"Historically what we know from other studies is that flavors can mask the harshness and taste of tobacco, particularly for a new person who has not smoked regularly and finds it difficult to handle," said the CDC's Dr. Tim McAfee, director of the Office on Smoking and Health. "Flavoring makes it easier to use and more appealing to youth."
Cigars have become increasingly popular in the last couple of decades. Sales were up 240% from 1997 to 2007, according to the CDC. Flavored cigars account for 80% of those sales.
Doctors support rising the smoking age
The problem is studies show; kids' experimentation with tobacco often turns into a lifelong habit. Some 88% of adults who smoke say they started smoking by the age of 18, according to the CDC.
Tobacco use overall among kids has declined over the past few decades. Some 18% of high school students said they smoked one or more cigarettes in the previous month, and 13.1% said they smoked cigars, according to 2011 data.
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