The smoking rate in teens has been down for years, but researchers have found a new trend in addiction -- teen girls picking up cigarettes in hopes of dropping pounds.

According to an article by Reuters Health, a recent study by the American Journal of Health Promotion found that teen girls dieting during the two-year study were almost twice as likely to take up smoking than those not dieting.

Conversely, the study found that teen boys turned to cigarettes after attempting and failing at dieting.

Researchers noted that dieting does not appear to be linked to trying smoking, but that female teens who initiate dieting appear at risk for beginning regular smoking.

JaNan Less, community health consultant for the Scott County Health Department, said she thinks the increase in teen girls smoking found in the research is linked to high obesity rates and girls looking to tobacco to lose weight.

The theory is that smoking distracts people from eating and helps curb appetites. A WebMd article shows girls who are concerned about staying or being thin are more likely to look to the habit because it will help them maintain their weight.

Research shows weight concerns are more warranted upon quitting smoking, when appetites increase and oral cravings kick in.

Ellen Reilley, learning support specialist for Davenport schools, said the district may not be seeing this trend.

She said the 2005 Iowa Youth Survey found that a lot of the district's juniors were smoking, with 11 percent smoking daily over 30 days. But the numbers were equal for male and female students, and the survey did not look at the correlation between dieting and initiating smoking.

Although this trend may not have hit local schools, Ms. Reilley said the Davenport district has mirrored the nationwide decline in smoking with schools, seeing a consistent decrease in students smoking from 1999 to 2005.

"It's a concern," she said. "We address it openly, but it is not running rampant by any means. It's a very small percentage of students."

Ms. Reilley said she attributed the downward trend to programs in schools, commercials and other agencies putting out a strong proactive message that smoking is bad.

Ms. Less said in addition to the many anti-smoking messages, it also has become more difficult for teens to get their hands on cigarettes because the number of retailers complying with underage laws has increased.

"I think there's a social norm change with tobacco," Ms. Less said. "It's not so socially acceptable now with all the information and knowledge we have."

Although there are many successful efforts to curb teen smoking, teens certainly haven't kicked the habit completely.

Through her work with Tobacco Free QC and health department programming, Ms. Less said teens have told her they are getting cigarettes from parents or other relatives and also have started buying cigarettes one at a time from retailers.

"That makes it so it's not cost prohibitive for the teens to buy them for less than a $1, rather than having to commit to an entire package," she said, noting the individual sales is illegal.

On the Net

www.tobaccofreeqc.org

www.smokefree.gov

What's in a cigarette?

Cigarette smoke contains more than 4,000 chemicals -- including some of the same chemicals in wood varnish, insect poison DDT, arsenic, nail polish remover and rat poison.

The steps for quitting smoking can be broken into five steps:

S - Set a quit date

T - Tell family, friends and co-workers you plan to quit

A - Anticipate and plan for the challenges of quitting

R - Remove cigarettes and other tobacco products from your home, car and work

T - Talk to your doctor about getting help to quit.

Source: www.smokefree.gov

Smoking statistics

2.7 million kids under the age of 18 smoke

1/5 of kids are smokers by the time they leave high school

More than 6.3 million kids under age 18 alive today will eventually die from smoking-related

23 % of all high school students are current smokers

Almost 90 percent of adult smokers began before age 18

Source:tobaccofreekids.org

Camel No. 9 sidebar

R.J. Reynolds' newest cigarette, Camel No. 9, claims to be "light and luscious, and the pink and black sleek packaging is designed to appeal to women smokers. Widely available, some are touting the more chick friendly cigarettes the "Barbie Camel."

The company says the new take on cigarettes is designed to boost the number of women smokers loyal to the Camel brand. Reps said the brand is known as a male brand, with only 30 percent of Camel smokers being women.

But many politicians and others across the country are up in arms about Camel No. 9 advertising in many major women's magazines; including Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Vogue and many others. Members of congress have been writing to these publishers requesting they remove they adds which they claim are unquestionably targeted at teen girls.

So far the campaign has had little success, with the ads remaining on the page and the cigarettes still being hocked.

Source:NPR, Washington Post