HHS HealthBeat (March 23, 2007)

Getting teens to quit

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I'm Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

There's help for teenagers who want to quit smoking. The trick is to have them get it.

Susan Curry of the University of Illinois at Chicago surveyed close to 600 cessation programs. Her study in the American Journal of Public Health was supported by the National Cancer Institute and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Curry found a lot of programs that use proven methods, often in schools.

"If you want help quitting smoking, chances are you can find it. If you're in high school, you can probably find it at your school or at a community organization. And what you find is likely to work, and help you quit." (12 seconds)

Curry sees room for growth. The programs served an average of fewer than 50 teens a year.

Learn more at www.hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I'm Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: April, 06 2007