Here is what it is doing to our young people:

High school students who smoke: 21.1% (294,700); male high school students who use smokeless or spit tobacco: 13.1% (females use much lower); kids (under 18) who become new daily smokers each year: 30,900; kids exposed to secondhand smoke at home: 995,000; packs of cigarettes bought or smoked by kids each year: 67.7 million; adults in Texas who smoke: 19.3% (3,283,600).

Nationwide, youth smoking has declined dramatically since the mid-1990's, but that decline appears to have slowed considerably or even stopped in recent years. The 2005 Youth Risk Behavior Survey found that the percentage of high school students reporting that they have smoked cigarettes in the past month increased to 23 percent in 2005 from 21.9 percent in 2003. This increase follows a 40 percent decline between 1997, when rates peaked at 36.4 percent, and 2003. The survey also found that 13.6 percent of high school males use spit tobacco. U.S. adult smoking has decreased gradually in the last several decades, and 20.9 percent of U.S. adults (about 45 million) currently smoke.

Smoking-Caused Monetary Costs in Texas

Here is what it is doing to your pocketbook:

Annual health care costs in Texas directly caused by smoking: $5.83 billion; portion covered by the state Medicaid program: $1.6 billion; residents' state & federal tax burden from smoking-caused government expenditures: $583 per household; smoking-caused productivity losses in Texas: $6.44 billion.

Amounts do not include health costs caused by exposure to secondhand smoke, smoking caused fires, spit tobacco use, or cigar and pipe smoking.

Other non-health costs from tobacco use include residential and commercial property losses from smoking caused fires (more than $500 million per year nationwide); extra cleaning and maintenance costs made necessary by tobacco smoke and litter (about $4+ billion nationwide for commercial establishments alone); and additional productivity losses from smoking caused work absences; smoking breaks, and on-the-job performance declines and early termination of employment caused by smoking caused disability or illness (dollar amount listed above is just from productive work lives shortened by smoking caused death).

CTCADA offers both adolescent intervention and treatment programs. Education, individual counseling, family therapy, group counseling and referral to other resources are all part of a comprehensive effort to prevent or intervene in youth alcohol and drug abuse. Call us at 254-690-4455!