Survey finds big drop in Indiana teen smoking

July 15, 2009 (INDIANAPOLIS) The Indiana Youth Tobacco Survey says that 18.3 percent of the state's high school students smoked last year, down from 31.6 percent at the start of the decade. The drop was even bigger among middle school students, falling from 9.8 percent in 2000 to 4.1 percent in 2008.

The Indiana Tobacco Prevention and Cessation agency's report also found that fewer than 10 percent of teens are established smokers, meaning they smoked on 20 of the past 30 days.

Agency director Karla Sneegas tells The Indianapolis Star that likely means fewer youths becoming one- to two-pack-a-day smokers.