 | | | | Related Healthscout Videos | |
|
THURSDAY, Feb. 16 (HealthDay News) -- Global smoking rates among girls are rapidly catching up to those of boys, putting the health of the world's youth in peril, researchers say.
The study, which appears online Feb. 17 in The Lancet, also noted a surprisingly high use of smokeless tobacco products among both boys and girls.
Text Continues Below
"This is an alarming pattern and suggests that tobacco use, especially among young girls, is on the increase," said Charles Warren, lead author of the paper and research coordinator for the Global Youth Tobacco Survey, from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Office on Smoking and Health.
"The findings suggest that the tobacco-control effort needs to broaden its scope and needs to develop some special program efforts," he said.
Danny McGoldrick, director of research at the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, said the findings "should serve as a warning sign that the already incredible toll will only get worse if we don't put in place the interventions we know work."
Tobacco use is a major risk factor for lung and other cancers, heart disease and respiratory problems, and is the second leading cause of death worldwide.
Experts predict that the number of worldwide deaths annually from tobacco use will double from 5 million in 2005 to 10 million in 2020. And those numbers may be conservative, since they don't fully take into account non-cigarette tobacco use and unexpectedly high rates of smoking among young girls, the researchers said.
The new findings come from a school-based survey of about 750,000 students aged 13 to 15 in 131 countries as well as the Gaza Strip and West Bank of Israel. Students answered questions about current tobacco use, exposure to secondhand smoke and susceptibility to smoking.
The survey is a joint project of the World Health Organization, the CDC and the Canadian Public Health Association, as well as most WHO member states. The survey surveillance system is the world's largest body of comparable data for youth tobacco use.
Page: 1 | 2 | 3 | Next >>
|
.gif)
