Tobacco use among high school students--United States, 1997.

Tobacco use is the single leading preventable cause of death in the United States. Approximately 80% of tobacco use occurs for the first time among youth aged <18 years, and the prevalence of cigarette smoking among adolescents increased during the early 1990s. To determine prevalence rates of cigarette, smokeless tobacco (chewing tobacco or snuff), and cigar use for U.S. high school students, CDC analyzed data from the 1997 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS). This report summarizes the results of the analysis, which indicate that the prevalence of current cigarette smoking among U.S. high school students increased from 27.5% in 1991 to 36.4% in 1997 and that, in 1997, 42.7% of students used cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, or cigars during the 30 days preceding the survey.