Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comparative Study
. 2019 May;109(5):771-773.
doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2019.304995. Epub 2019 Mar 21.

Rural-Urban Differences in the Decline of Adolescent Cigarette Smoking

Erika C Ziller  1 , Jennifer Dunbar Lenardson  1 , Nathan C Paluso  1 , Jean A Talbot  1 , Angela Daley  1
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Rural-Urban Differences in the Decline of Adolescent Cigarette Smoking

Erika C Ziller et al. Am J Public Health. 2019 May.

Abstract

Objectives: To examine change over time in cigarette smoking among rural and urban adolescents and to test whether rates of change differ by rural versus urban residence.

Methods: We used the 2008 through 2010 and 2014 through 2016 US National Survey of Drug Use and Health to estimate prevalence and adjusted odds of current cigarette smoking among rural and urban adolescents aged 12 to 17 years in each period. To test for rural-urban differences in the change between periods, we included an interaction between residence and time.

Results: Between 2008 to 2010 and 2014 to 2016, cigarette smoking rates declined for rural and urban adolescents; however, rural reductions lagged behind urban reductions. Controlling for socioeconomic characteristics, rural versus urban odds of cigarette smoking did not differ in 2008 through 2010; however, in 2014 through 2016, rural youths had 50% higher odds of smoking than did their urban peers.

Conclusions: Differential reductions in rural youth cigarette smoking have widened the rural-urban gap in current smoking rates for adolescents. Public Health Implications. To continue gains in adolescent cigarette abstinence and reduce rural-urban disparities, prevention efforts should target rural adolescents.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Johnston LD, Miech RA, O’Malley PM, Bachman JG, Schulenberg JE, Patrick ME. Monitoring the Future National Survey Results on Drug Use: 1975–2017: Overview, Key Findings on Adolescent Drug Use. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Institute for Social Research; 2018.
    1. Arrazola RA, Kuiper NM, Dube SR. Patterns of current use of tobacco products among US high school students for 2000–2012—findings from the National Youth Tobacco Survey. J Adolesc Health. 2014;54(1):54–60. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality. 2016 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Detailed Tables. Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration; 2017.
    1. Warren JC, Smalley KB, Barefoot KN. Perceived ease of access to alcohol, tobacco and other substances in rural and urban US students. Rural Remote Health. 2015;15(4):3397. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bernat DH, Choi K. Differences in cigarette use and the tobacco environment among youth living in metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas. J Rural Health. 2018;34(1):80–87. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types