Pubdate: Wed, 18 Nov 1998 Source: Chronicle of Higher Education, The (US) Copyright: 1998 by The Chronicle of Higher Education Contact: http://chronicle.com/ Author: Karla Haworth STUDY FINDS A SHARP RISE IN SMOKING AMONG COLLEGE STUDENTS Washington The smoking rate among students at four-year colleges rose by 28 per cent from 1993 to 1997, fueled in part by an increase in adolescent smoking in the 1990s, according to a study released Tuesday. The smoking study, which appears in today's issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association, is part of the Harvard School of Public Health's College Alcohol Study. The project tracks drinking, smoking, and other high-risk behaviors of students at four-year colleges in the United States. All student groups, regardless of age, sex, race, ethnicity, or year in college, were smoking more, the study found. The smoking rate increased at 99 of the 116 colleges in the study, and smoking grew faster at public colleges than at private ones, said Henry Wechsler, the director of College Alcohol Studies for the School of Public Health and a co-author of the study. Mr. Wechsler said that the higher smoking rates could increase the incidence of severe health problems as the current college population ages. "Unless this problem is checked, it will say much about the future health of this country," he said in a news conference here Tuesday. The authors of the study said it showed alarming evidence that college students were not as resistant to the lure of smoking as they once were. In previous studies, students were less likely to smoke than adults or peers who were not in college. In the new study, however, 25 per cent of the students surveyed said that they had become regular smokers while they were in college. The researchers said that the more that students smoked, the more that other students who may have experimented with cigarettes in high school were encouraged to become regular smokers because they thought it was the norm. "As more teens start smoking, more smokers are going to college, and that sort of feeds on itself," said William D. Novelli, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, a private organization that aims to reduce tobacco use among children and young adults. The researchers attributed the jump in student smoking to increased tobacco use among children and adolescents. They lambasted tobacco companies for targeting children by using cartoon characters, such as Joe Camel, to sell their products. "The young person who saw Joe Camel at age 8 is now smoking at age 18," said William Mahood, a member of the Board of Trustees of the American Medical Association. The study compared the responses of 14,521 college students surveyed in 1997 with 15,103 surveyed in 1993. Researchers polled students at 116 colleges in 39 states. Although the study found across-the-board increases in smoking, some colleges and groups had lower smoking rates than others. For instance, Asian, black, and Hispanic students had lower smoking rates than white students. Seniors and fifth-year students reported smoking less than freshmen, sophomores, and juniors did. And some colleges -- including commuter colleges, defined as institutions at which 90 per cent or more of the students live off campus, and "highly-competitive" colleges -- showed a lower prevalence of smoking. The researchers said there was hope for college smokers, however. The study found that half of all college smokers had tried to quit in the previous year, compared with 30 per cent of adults not in college. Nancy Rigotti, director of Tobacco Research and Treatment at Massachusetts General Hospital, and a co-author of the study, said that college health officials should take advantage of that statistic by offering smoking-cessation and outreach programs both to "full-time" and occasional smokers. Dr. Rigotti said that colleges must discourage smoking by making dormitories and other public places smoke-free. "Smoke-free areas not only eliminate secondhand smoke," she said. "They limit the visibility and accessibility of cigarettes around those who are trying to quit or are still only occasional smokers." She said that raising the price of cigarettes on and near campuses also would deter smoking. Background stories from The Chronicle: "A Tobacco Company Ends Voluntary Ban on Advertising in Student Newspapers," 5/1/98 "Students Engage in Behavior Posing Serious Health Risks, CDC Study Finds," 9/5/97 For a new essay by Mr. Wechsler on a related topic, see: "Getting Serious About Eradicating Binge Drinking," 11/20/98 - --- Checked-by: Patrick Henry