Smoking at U.S. high schools at lowest level since 1991

ATLANTA - The government said Thurdsday that smoking by high-school students has dropped to its lowest level in a decade, crediting steep cigarette taxes and school programs that discourage kids from picking up the habit. <br> <br> The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said today that just 28.5 percent of high-schoolers in a nationwide survey last year reported they had smoked a cigarette in the previous month -- down from 36.4 percent just five years ago. <br> <br> The rate is the lowest since 1991, when 27.5 percent of high school students said they smoked. The figure climbed for most of the 1990s before reversing in 1999. <br> <br> The president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, Matthew Myers, said ``This is terrific news. This is dramatic evidence that the combination of tax increases and prevention programs are the equivalent of a vaccine.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> The average retail price of cigarettes jumped 70 percent from December 1997 to May 2001, and CDC analysts say children are far more likely to choose not to smoke because of the high cost.