News and Events
Results of the 2010 Florida Youth Tobacco Survey Reveal Progress in Dixie County, Florida
By Barry Hummel, Jr., MD, Quit Doc Research and Education Foundation
The results of the 2010 Florida Youth Tobacco Survey (FYTS) were released in November, 2010, and those results reveal the success of tobacco prevention efforts in Dixie County, Florida over the last two years.
The FYTS has been conducted annually since 2000 to monitor trends in youth tobacco use throughout the State of Florida. During every-other-odd-year, statewide data is collected; during every-other-even-year, the FYTS is expanded to collect county-specific data. This allows for analysis of local trends, as well as comparisons among the counties to identify specific successes or problem areas.
The 2010 results are particularly important in Dixie County. Prior to the 2008 FYTS, there had been no specific funding for tobacco prevention programs in Dixie County since 2003. The 2010 FYTS results reflect the return of funding for such programs beginning in the spring of 2008.
Figure 1 shows results from the 2008 and 2010 FYTS for use of all form of tobacco by Dixie County Youth. In 2008, prior to funding for tobacco prevention efforts, Dixie County students fell behind the state averages. For example, there was a 6.3% decrease in all forms of tobacco use among Florida High School Students; during the same time period, there was a 3.5 % increase in tobacco use among Dixie County High School Students. Similarly, there was a 20.4% drop in tobacco use among all Florida Middle School students, compared to a 12.7% drop reported by Dixie County Middle School students.
Once the funding for prevention programs was restored in Dixie County, this trend was reversed. While there was a mere 0.9% drop in tobacco use reported statewide among Florida High School Students from 2008 to 2010, Dixie County saw a 16.1% drop in high school tobacco use over the same time frame. Dixie County Middle School students also reported a 27.8% decrease in tobacco use, compared to a 3.3% drop statewide.
These trends were also demonstrated when separating out the different types of tobacco. During the two years of renewed funding, there were decreases in cigarette, cigar, and smokeless tobacco use among Dixie County Middle and High School Students that exceeded the state average over the same period of time.
Figure 2 shows the comparison between 2008 (pre-funding) and 2010 (renewed funding) for cigarette use among Dixie County Students. In 2008, those declines fell behind state averages for both Middle School and High School students; once again, the 2010 data reveals that funding in Dixie County led to reductions in both Middle and High School cigarette use that exceeded state averages over the same time period; in fact, Middle School cigarette use in Dixie County dropped 39.3% compared to a statewide drop of just 2.0%.
Figure 3 shows a similar comparison for cigar use among Dixie County Students. As with cigarettes, the 2008 data reveals a smaller decline in cigar use among Dixie County Middle School students, and a huge increase in cigar use among Dixie County High School students, when compared to state averages. In contrast, the 2010 data reveals that Dixie County Middle and High School students reported huge decreases in cigar use that exceeded state averages over the same time period; in fact, Dixie County High School students actually bucked the trend of increased cigar use state wide!
Finally, Figure 4 reveals the comparison for smokeless tobacco use. This data is becoming increasingly important because of a recent push by major tobacco companies to move into the smokeless market with new products such as snus. The 2008 data showed a 1.4% decrease in smokeless use among Dixie County High School students, and a rather large 22.1% drop in smokeless tobacco use among Dixie County Middle School students; this is compared to no change in smokeless use statewide. In stark contrast, the 2010 data reveals that Dixie County Middle and High School students reported reductions in smokeless tobacco use that exceeded state averages over the same time period; again, Dixie County High School students reversed the trend of increased smokeless tobacco use state wide!
Another area of focus of the Dixie County Tobacco Prevention Program is youth secondhand smoke exposure. The health effects of secondhand smoke are well established, and the United States Surgeon General has stated that there is no safe level of secondhand smoke exposure. Reducing youth exposure to secondhand smoke is difficult, because most secondhand smoke exposure occurs in the homes and cars of family members and friends. However, 13% of Dixie County middle school students and 17% of Dixie County high school students report exposure to secondhand smoke by strangers; this type of exposure occurs in public places or on the job.
Figure 5 reveals the comparison for secondhand smoke exposure among Dixie County Youth when compared to all Florida Middle and High School students. From 2006 to 2008, there was an increase in secondhand smoke exposure among Dixie County youth (a 2.0% increase among high school students, and a 10.4% increase among middle school students), compared to large drops in both age groups statewide. After funding was restored, secondhand smoke exposure among Dixie County youth was reduced (a 2.5% drop among high school students and a 23.6% drop among middle school students). The reduction of secondhand smoke exposure among Dixie County middle school students was almost four times larger than the 6.6% drop statewide!
The reduction of secondhand smoke exposure in Dixie County is likely the result of educating a population that was previously under-informed on the risks. However, the inability to make similar dramatic reductions in secondhand smoke exposure statewide may reflect the fact that it has been increasingly difficult to educate adult smokers about the issue of smoking around children and teens. It almost seems as if many adults are tuning out this information. Because most secondhand smoke exposure occurs in the homes and cars of family and friends, this is a major hurdle to reducing youth exposure to secondhand smoke.
Another problem is the restriction to enacting local laws to reduce secondhand smoke exposure in public places. The current Florida Clean Indoor Air Act preempts local governments from enacting such laws, which prevents Dixie County from creating smoke-free parks, beaches, and playgrounds. Such laws would reduce secondhand smoke exposure in these locations.
A large component of the Dixie County Tobacco Prevention Programs is youth outreach. The Quit Doc Research and Education Foundation is convinced that the return of these programs over the last two years accounts for the decrease in youth tobacco use in Dixie County demonstrated in the 2010 FYTS.
The Dixie County Youth Prevention Programs consist of a combination of school-based educational programs and funding of the Students Working Against Tobacco (SWAT) program in Dixie County schools.
Figures 6 and 7 show the expansion of youth outreach programs over the last two years.
Figure 6 reveals that the percentage of Dixie County high school students reporting that they received any tobacco prevention education has increased by 60.5%, compared to a decrease statewide of 6.3%; similarly, there was also an increase of 15.9% reported among Dixie County middle school students compared to a 3.2% drop statewide.
Figure 7 looks at comprehensive tobacco prevention programs. This data reveals that Dixie County excels in this category. Again, there was a 95% increase in comprehensive tobacco prevention education among Dixie County high school students compared to a 14% drop statewide. Among middle school students the disparity is even greater, with a 141.8% increase in comprehensive programs in Dixie County compared to a 3.1% drop statewide.
You may ask yourself why there is such a dramatic difference between Dixie County and Florida as a whole. Quite simply, the focus of the tobacco prevention programs has changed over the last year, with more focus on local changes in tobacco policies. Many tobacco prevention programs have been forced to use their limited resources to focus on policy change, decreasing their outreach programs. The Quit Doc Research and Education Foundation elected to continue its outreach efforts in addition to the required policy change initiatives. It is our belief that our continuing commitment to outreach programs is reflected in the results of the 2010 Florida Youth Tobacco Survey.
For additional information on the Florida Youth Tobacco Survey, visit http://www.doh.state.fl.us/disease_ctrl/epi/Chronic_Disease/FYTS/Intro.htm, or contact the Quit Doc Research and Education Foundation at 866-355-7848.
