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Restaurant Smoking Bans Discourage Teen Smoking

Teens who lived in communities with strict bans on smoking in restaurants are less likely to become regular smokers than teens in communities with weaker or no bans. A new study conducted in Massachusetts followed over 2500 adolescents for four years, beginning in 2001, to track how many tried smoking and how many eventually became smokers.

During the four years, about 100 cities in Massachusetts enacted laws restricting smoking in workplaces, bars or restaurants. Overall, about 9 percent of the teens became smokers. The rate was 10 percent in towns without bans or with weak bans, compared to 8 percent in towns with stricter bans.

The researchers estimate that the stronger bans reduced adolescents' likelihood of becoming smokers by 40 percent. The smoking bans had a greater effect on younger teens than on older ones.

The study, led by Dr. Michael Siegel of Boston University School of Public Health, is reported in the May issue of the Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine.

New Survey of Teen Drivers Reveals Need for More Education

The National Young Driver Survey asked more than 5,000 9th through 11th graders across the country about their perceptions of 25 risky driving situations. Teens identified the factors that they considered most important in a safe driving situation and estimated how often their peers exhibited these behaviors.

Key findings from the survey indicate that:

Teens don't recognize themselves an inexperienced drivers; sixty percent of teens thought inexperience strongly influences safety, but only 15 percent consider their peers to be inexperienced drivers.
Teens identify some distractions as more dangerous than others. While almost four out of five (79 percent) consider text messaging while driving as dangerous, only one-quarter believe talking on a cell phone while driving to be dangerous and only 10 percent view other passengers as distracting.
Some teen populations are not receiving sufficient education about driving-related risks. Caucasian teens are more likely than Hispanic or African American teens to see their peers speeding or racing and are less likely to consider these behaviors risky. Hispanic and African American teens, on the other hand, viewed drinking alcohol while driving as less risky than did Caucasian teens.

The study's authors, from The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and State Farm Insurance, recommend that educators increase their efforts to deliver more specific messages about inexperience and distractions while driving, as well as reinforcing the hazards of speeding and drinking and driving for specific groups of teens.

The study appears in the May 2008 issue of Pediatrics.

Teen Marijuana Use Linked to Depression

Teen Marijuana Use Worsens Depression: An Analysis of Recent Data Shows 'Self-Medicating' Could Actually Make Things Worse is a new report from the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. Although fewer teens overall are smoking marijuana, according to the report, the higher potency of marijuana today compared to 30 years ago heightens the risks to teens.

The report synthesizes recent research findings from multiple studies. Among its key findings:

Teens who smoke marijuana at least once a month are three times more likely to have suicidal thoughts than non-users;
Using marijuana can cause depression and other mental disorders;
The percentage of depressed teens is equal to the percentage of depressed adults, but depressed teens are more likely than depressed adults to use marijuana and other illicit drugs;
Teen girls who use marijuana daily are more likely to develop depression than girls who do not use marijuana;
Depressed teens are also more likely than non-depressed teens to engage in other risky behaviors such as daily cigarette use and heavy alcohol use.

Oklahoma Senates Doubles Time for Physical Activity and Nutrition

The Oklahoma Senate has passed a bill that doubles the required amount of class time for physical activity in from 60 minutes a week to 120 minutes a week for all students in Kindergarten through the fifth grade. Those minutes can include physical education, exercise programs, fitness breaks, recess, classroom activities and nutrition education.

The bill was framed as an attempt to combat childhood obesity. The bill now goes to Governor Brad Henry for approval.

Obesity Linked to Neighborhood Food Environment

Obesity and diabetes are more prevalent in neighborhoods with more fast food restaurants and convenience stores than grocery stores and produce vendors, according to a new study by researchers at the University of California-Los Angeles Center for Health Policy Research, the California Center for Public Health Advocacy, and PolicyLink. Using data from the California Health Interview Survey (2005), U.S. Census data and data on the location of retail food outlets, the researchers also found that the average California resident has four times as many fast food restaurants and convenience stores in their neighborhood than grocery and produce stores. The correlation between food outlets and obesity and diabetes was seen across all income levels, geographic areas and ethnicities.

Designed for Disease: The Link Between Local Food Environments and Obesity and Diabetes also contains policy recommendations, including increasing the capacity of existing stores to sell healthy foods, requiring restaurants to include nutrition information in their menus to help consumers make healthier choices, and limiting the number of fast food restaurants in communities through zoning regulations.