Cigarette use among high school students--United States, 1991-2003.

Cigarette use is the leading preventable cause of death in the United States. One of the national health objectives for 2010 is to reduce the prevalence of current cigarette use among high school students to < or =16%. To examine changes in cigarette use among high school students in the United States during 199-2003, CDC analyzed data from the national Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS). This report summarizes the results of that analysis, which indicated that although 1) the prevalence of lifetime cigarette use was stable among high school students during the 1990s and 2) the prevalence of both current and current frequent cigarette use increased into the late 1990s, all three behaviors had declined significantly by 2003. Prevention efforts must be sustained to ensure this pattern continues and the 2010 objective is achieved.