Cigarette smoking among high school seniors: did the rate decline?

Some questions about adolescent smoking levels as reported in national surveys were recently raised by M. B. Mittelmark, D. M. Murray, R. N. Luepker, and T. F. Pechacek, [Prev. Med. 11, 708-712 (1982)]: such levels may be underreported, calling into question the decline in adolescent smoking. The present article suggests that the most plausible interpretation of available data is that smoking is, in general, validly reported and that there was a real decline in smoking rates among high school seniors during the period 1977-1981.