Teen Smoking Too High

A recent report from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC.gov) estimates that 20 percent of American high school students smoke cigarettes.  These numbers are static in recent years and the lack of a decline alarms health care officials.

This article from CNN Health cites the lack of resources focused on teens as part of the problem.  While adults have a host of avenues to quit smoking, teens are left without focused treatment programs to assist them with kicking the habit.

Other roadblocks for teens is that many of them are too young to legally smoke and they may worry about coming forward to join a class or support group.  Will it get them in trouble with their parents or the law?

Do you know a teen smoker?  Check out the excellent resources available at the American Lung Association.  Check out their smoking cessation fact sheet linked above and other links on that site for more information and resources.

Nurse Smoking Study Reveals Dangers

Smoking is now seen to have even more of an impact on longevity.  A recent study by UCLA on data from the landmark Nurses’ Health Study found the numbers surrounding the mortality rates across the age groups for nurses who currently smoked significantly higher.  Some age groups showed mortality rates two times the rates of non-smoker nurses.

The Nurses’ Health Study was initiated in the 1970s with bi-annual surveys of more than 200,000 nurses and is considered one of the primary sources of women’s health research in the world.