U.S. Teens Smoking Less, New Report Shows

American teenagers are smoking less, according to a new government report. The report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) found current cigarette smoking among teenagers declined significantly between 2002 and 2010 in 41 states. Nationwide, teen cigarette use fell from 12.6 percent to 8.7 percent, UPI reports.

“Although this report shows that considerable progress has been made in lowering adolescent cigarette smoking, the sad, unacceptable fact remains that in many states about one in 10 adolescents smoked cigarettes in the past month,” SAMHSA Administrator Pamela S. Hyde said in a news release. “The report also shows that we must collectively redouble our efforts to better educate adolescents about the risks of tobacco, and continue to work with every state and community to promote effective tobacco use prevention and recovery programs.”

The report found Wyoming had the highest teen smoking rate—13.5 percent—more than double Utah’s rate of 5.9 percent. Teens’ perception of great risk from smoking a pack a day or more increased overall, from 63.7 percent to 65.4 percent.