Tobacco use among Massachusetts youth: Is tobacco control working?

Background. This paper examines whether the Massachusetts Tobacco Control P rogram is affecting the rates of smoking and smokeless tobacco use among Ma ssachusetts' youth. Methods. School survey data from the Massachusetts Prevalence Study were an alyzed to estimate differences between 1993 and 1996 rates of youth cigaret te and smokeless tobacco use, attitudes toward smoking, and awareness of ci garette ads and promotions of antismoking messages. Results. Lifetime and Current Smoking rates declined significantly among mi ddle school males, contrasting with stable national trends. Among girls in this age group, Lifetime and Current Smoking did not change significantly. Hispanic middle school students exhibited a significant decline in Lifetime Use. There were no significant changes in Lifetime or Current Smoking rate s among high school students. Lifetime use of smokeless tobacco declined am ong middle school students while Current Use declined among both middle and high school students. Students reported declines in awareness of cigarette ads or promotions and increases in awareness of antismoking messages. Conclusions. These results provide evidence for cautious optimism regarding the impact of tobacco control, but indicate that these efforts should begi n earlier and that additional research is needed to understand and address the problems of tobacco use by girls. (C) 2000 American Health Foundation a nd Academic Press.