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ANN ARBOR— The 2012 national survey results from the Monitoring the Future study show a continuation of the declines in teen smoking in all three grades under study—grades 8, 10, and 12. Based on annual surveys of 45,000 to 50,000 students, the researchers found that the percentage saying that they smoked at all in the prior 30 days fell for the three grades combined, from 11.7% to 10.6%—a statistically significant drop.

“A one percentage-point decline may not sound like a lot, but it represents about a 9% reduction in a single year in the number of teens currently smoking,” observed Lloyd Johnston, the principal investigator of the study. “Such a reduction can translate eventually into thousands of premature deaths being prevented, as well as tens of thousands of serious diseases.” More than 400,000 Americans per year are estimated to die prematurely as a result of their smoking cigarettes; and most smokers begin their habit in adolescence. (more…)