Protecting Youth From Tobacco Around the Globe: Evidence to Practice

* Abbreviations: AAP — : American Academy of Pediatrics CDC — : US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CRC — : Convention on the Rights of the Child e-cigarette — : electronic cigarette GYTS — : Global Youth Tobacco Survey SHS — : secondhand smoke THS — : thirdhand smoke WNTD — : World No Tobacco Day Tobacco use and secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure are harmful to development and have significant health risks across the life span, including asthma, respiratory infections, cardiovascular disease, and cancer.1 Most adults begin smoking during adolescence, highlighting the importance of clinical and public health interventions to prevent tobacco use and encourage youth cessation. Data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Global Youth Tobacco Surveys (GYTS) from 61 countries reveal that a substantial number of youth report current cigarette smoking (mean prevalence: 10.7%, range: 1.7%–35%), and >50% of young smokers wish to quit.2 Globally, GYTS data indicate that youth who have never used tobacco products are susceptible to begin using them (Fig 1). In the United States, 5.8% of high schoolers currently smoke cigarettes, 58% of young smokers want to quit, and nearly half are susceptible to using cigarettes or electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes).3 Thus, global efforts to protect youth against such vulnerabilities are critical to ensure future tobacco-free generations. In this report, we describe a partnership between CDC and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) that highlights how strategic relationships can foster change. FIGURE 1 Prevalence of susceptibility to tobacco use among never tobacco users aged 13–15 years, GYTS, 2012–2018. Percentage of never tobacco users who are susceptible to using tobacco in the future by answering (1) ”definitely yes,” “probably yes,” or “probably not” to using tobacco if one of their best friends … Address correspondence to Julie Gorzkowski, MSW, Director, Adolescent Health Promotion, American Academy of Pediatrics, 345 Park Blvd, Itasca, IL 60143. E-mail: jgorzkowski{at}aap.org