The study, by a research branch of the National Institutes of Health, used confidential surveys on drinking and smoking given to 4,200 teens in Maryland's junior high schools. The study shows that for boys and girls, the top indicator of whether youngsters begin drinking or smoking is whether they have friends who do, says study leader Bruce Simons-Morton. The findings are contained in a cost-effectiveness analysis of 22 screening methods for the nation's second leading cancer killer. All 22 were deemed to extend life expectancy, with the most effective being annual testing for blood in the stool plus sigmoidoscopy every five years from age 50 to 85. The American Cancer Society estimates that 130,000 cases of cancer of the colon or rectum will be diagnosed this year, with about 47,000 deaths.
Lung cancer is the only form of cancer that kills more people.
For more information, contact the Department of Community Health.