Other measures that appear to discourage youth from trying tobacco include Taxes that raise the price of cigarettes. Strongly enforced laws that prohibit the sale of tobacco to young people. Policies in the school, workplace, and community that restrict smoking. Most Americans strongly favor policies that might prevent tobacco use among youth. Male and female adolescents are equally likely to smoke cigarettes.
Males are much more likely than females to use smokeless tobacco.
Over the past decade, there has been virtually no decline in smoking rates among all teens. Among black adolescents, however, the prevalence of smoking has declined dramatically. A 1992 survey found that 32 percent of high school students had tried smokeless tobacco. Most of these were males. Young people who come from a low-income family and have fewer than two adults living in their household are especially at risk for becoming smokers.