Jane*, then 13, was upset. She’d had a bad day at school and wanted nothing more than to relieve her stress. She drank tea, listened to music and took a shower, all to no avail. So she pilfered a cigarette from her parents.
“I remembered [them] talking about how it was a great way to relieve stress,” she said. This marked the start of Jane’s smoking habit, one that has continued at South, where she is now a sophomore and smokes occasionally with her friends.
They smoke less than they used to, she said. As Jane has grown older, she has noticed that fewer students around her are smoking.
"Since I've started I've noticed less and less people smoking," she said.
Recent data confirms Jane’s observation, as the smoking rate among Massachusetts teenagers – including those at South – has recently declined. In 1998, 27 percent of Newton high school students reported that they smoke regularly; today, that number is at 13 percent.
Much of this decrease can be credited South’s education, according to Intervention/Prevention Counselor Rich Catrambone.
“I think better education, more money was put into [educating students about tobacco products],” he said. “They even had a program two summers ago where they were giving actual kits out for patches for tobacco sensation.”
He believes that these efforts have resulted in a decrease in the number of smokers in the parking lot.
“I think [the students who smoke] have made a good effort to try and correct their problems,” Catrambone said.
Junior Jeremiah Davis disagreed.
“I don’t think [kids smoke less] because of any sort of change, or kids’ perception of smoking,” he said. “If there are less kids at South smoking, then I don’t think it has much to do with the school. I think it just means it’s harder for students to get cigarettes.”
Sophomore Lauren Ashbrook agreed. Another cause for the decrease in smoking, she added, is students' use of other substances, particularly alcohol.
“I hardly ever see people smoking around the school,” she said. “I think [students who smoke] are turning to alcohol a little more than they would be to cigarettes … I know they’re not the same things, but if anything I feel like that’s what people are doing more of.”
Catrambone believes that smokeless tobacco, not alcohol, has replaced cigarettes. He noted that smokeless tobacco (for example, dip, chew, etc.) usage rates have gone up.
“I think too many kids are turning to tobacco, particularly smokeless tobacco, the chew and other kinds of things,” Catrambone said. “I think there’s peer influence [around tobacco]. I think kids see other kids using tobacco products and fall under the influence of others, including TV and movies.”
Jane has noticed a peer influence, too, around smoking. She said that she would not prevent a friend from lighting up a cigarette.
“I’m not going to stop them because it’s their choice,” Jane said. “But I feel like they should be aware of the facts before they pick [a cigarette] up.”
And until students feel comfortable telling their other friends to stop, Catrambone explained, smoking and tobacco use will remain a problem, regardless of what statistics show.
“Kids are becoming more aware that tobacco is so harmful,” he said, “but we are still a far cry from where we need to be.”
*Names have been changed to protect student's identities.
