A study funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 program and just published revealed that across European countries the average age of smoking initiation has gotten younger and peaked at 16 among boys and 15 among girls in the 2000s. However, the crude rates of smoking initiation for European teens are at an all-time low. “The data from Europe mirrors what we are seeing in the United States, where cigarette smoking among U.S. teens is at an all-time low,” reports Cristine D. Delnevo, Director, Center for Tobacco Studies at Rutgers University’s School of Public Health.
“Initiation of cigarettes smoking typically occurs in adolescence and is rare after the age of 21, which is why ‘Tobacco 21’ age of sale laws are growing in popularity,” she says. “Also, poly tobacco use — the use of more than one product — among teenagers is growing. Monitoring patterns of tobacco use is critical to developing sound strategies to address the rapidly changing diverse tobacco market.”
Media interested in interviewing Delnevo can contact Michelle Edelstein at (732) 235-5824 (o) (732) 427-6232 (c), or at [email protected].
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