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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing
5154.0: Wednesday, November 07, 2007 - 3:42 PM

Abstract #163213

Prevalence of smoking among youth incarcerated in VA 1999-2003

Elizabeth Lloyd McGarvey, EdD1, Dennis Waite, PhD2, Ruth Gaare Bernheim, JD, MPH3, and Claudia Linares, MS1. (1) Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Virginia, P.O. Box 800717, Charlottesville, VA Va, 434 9245522, rel8s@virginia.edu, (2) Department of Psychiatry & Neurobehavioral Sciences, University of Virginia, P.O. Box 800623, Charlottesville, VA 22903, (3) Division of Public Health Policy and Practice, University of Virgina School of Medicine, PO Box 800717, Charlottesville, VA 22908-0717

There is much attention paid to smoking prevention among adolescents in schools and in the general population. Information on tobacco smoking among youth based on survey data may under-report rates of use among school dropouts, the homeless and those who refuse to participate in voluntary response surveys. As such, less may be known about the smoking behaviors and motivations among high risk youth who are are incarcerated compared to those who are not. This study reports the prevalence of tobacco smoking and related issues among the population of youth incarcerated in VA over a 5-years period, 1999-2003. The rates of smoking declined from 1999 to 2003. Data are compared to national survey results from Monitoring the Future, 2004. Differences in tobacco smoking behaviors are examined by age, sex, and race/ethnicity of youth and other factors. Policy and prevention programming implications are discussed.

Learning Objectives:

Keywords: Prison, Smoking

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No
Any institutionally-contracted trials related to this submission?

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Tobacco and Special Populations

The 135th APHA Annual Meeting & Exposition (November 3-7, 2007) of APHA