Daily Smoking and Subjective Health Complaints in Adolescence

Conclusions: As prevalence of daily smoking declined, daily smokers reported higher levels of complaints, suggesting increasing health problems within this group. Girls who smoke daily had particularly elevated levels of complaints. Implications: This study indicates that the relationship between daily smoking and concurrent health symptomatology in adolescents is changing over time, with higher levels of health complaints reported as overall smoking prevalence declines. To our knowledge, this finding has not previously been reported. If youth are smoking to cope with distress, pain, or other health concerns, tobacco control objectives will be increasingly difficult to achieve with adolescents. Levels of health complaints are particularly high among girls who are daily smokers. The findings suggest that restrictive measures and persuasive communications may not be sufficient tobacco prevention strategies for adolescent populations. Young smokers may need counseling and support.
Source: Nicotine and Tobacco Research - Category: Addiction Authors: Tags: Original Investigation Source Type: research