Researchers at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston recently met to discuss the findings of their report that shows teenagers directly affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita are more likely to smoke cigarettes.
The study surveyed and tracked more than 5,000 students in the Beaumont and Port Arthur areas during the spring 2006 semester, 6 to 9 months after Hurricane Katrina.
It also compared the results with students who did not have the same experiences. The results showed that almost 38 percent of students who reported they had a family member hurt or killed in the hurricane also reported that they are now smoking. Only 13 percent of students who did not endure death or injury in the family said they smoked.
Students most affected by the hurricanes, such as those who experienced losses of family, friends and homes, had the greatest smoking rates, said Angela Meshack, the primary author of the study.
Students who were still living in temporary housing and who were absent from school for more than two months due to the hurricanes were twice as likely to smoke than their counterparts, the study found.
"Raised stress levels lead to more smoking. It was not shocking to find that relationship after the hurricanes," said Alfred McAlister, a behavioral science professor at UT-Houston's School of Public Health and an author of the study said. He said the study shows teenagers turned to smoking to cope with the disruption.
"The hurricanes had an emotional impact on the youth, and we need to recognize that and give them the help they need," McAlister said. "Otherwise, they use tobacco as a crutch, and then they become addicted."
Darah Waldrip, spokeswoman for Texas Tobacco Prevention said the program has been placing special attention on smoking in Jefferson County, which is along the upper Gulf Coast, by establishing comprehensive tobacco control programs in the schools and around the community. They also conduct outreach efforts such as the anti-tobacco advertisements.
Meshack said she and authors of the study are working on a number of steps to help students after disasters and also prepare for possible future events.
The study was a result of the "Youth Tobacco Survey" that is taken by students in Texas every other year. The students will take it again in 2008. About 22 percent of American teenagers smoke, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"I imagine the next survey will have more normalization," Waldrip said.
post by, Lai
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