Number: HARD-004 Description: Are more young people smoking now than ten years ago, or have certain factors (such as the rising cost of cigarettes, nascent health concerns, parental second-hand smoke, anti-smoking advertisements) limited the appeal of smoking? Narrative: Information regarding statistical reports of young smokers, in addition to reasons young people may begin smoking are on topic. Anti-smoking propaganda efforts and its perceived effects on the youth market are relevent. Measures the government has taken to curtail youth smoking are on topic. Lawsuits brought against tobacco companies are off-topic. item=purpose, value=Answer item=genre, value=Administrative item=granularity, value=Document item=familiarity, value=2 CDC: Rate of smokers unchanged By Wendy Koch, USA TODAY Despite years of anti-tobacco efforts, the smoking rate among the nation's young adults has risen and the rate of all adults has barely budged this decade, says a government survey published Friday . Officials say the increase among those ages 18 to 24 is mostly the result of growing levels of teen smoking. "As teenagers age, they're taking with them their nicotine addiction," says Michael Eriksen, director of the Office on Smoking and Health at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which conducted the survey . He says the tobacco industry also markets aggressively to young adults because, unlike minors, "they're fair game." The survey of 35,816 adults nationwide was conducted in 1997. The previous one was done in 1995. If it weren't for the rise among young adults, Eriksen says the overall adult smoking rate would have fallen between the two surveys. Instead, it has leveled off this decade, after falling dramatically in the 1970s and 1980s. The USA is not expected to reach its goal of reducing smoking to 15% of adults by 2000. One of four adults reported smoking on a regular basis in 1997, the survey says. The rate was higher for men (28%) than for women (22%). It was much lower (12%) for those who were either college-educated or older than 65. For decades, a smaller share of people ages 18 to 24 smoked than those ages 25 to 44. But in 1997, for the first time, the two groups broke even. Almost 29% of each reported smoking daily or "some" days. Eriksen says the recent smoking increase among young adults possibly signals a long-term shift: "We're very concerned that as time goes on, the progress we've experienced with older adults will be undercut." Most smokers, once addicted, find it difficult to quit - and for those starting at a younger age, the cumulative health damage can be greater, he says. The CDC survey says cigarette smoking is the leading preventable cause of death in the USA. A separate national survey, released last December, showed that smoking among high school students soared during the 1990s. Seniors who said they smoked at least once monthly jumped from 28% in 1991 to almost 37% in 1997, according to the University of Michigan survey . But there was some encouraging news in the latest Michigan study. Last year, for the first time since 1992, the senior smoking rate dipped to 35%. Rates also fell for eighth- and 10th-graders.