Self-recognition of alcohol and cigarette dependency among high school seniors

A brief, anonymous survey of 284 high school seniors at one midwestern metropolitan public high school assessed current smoking, history of alcohol use, and students' beliefs in future risk of dependency. A major purpose was to assess students' self-recognition of alcohol and cigarette dependency. Of the seniors surveyed, 92 (32%) were current smokers, and 237 (84%) reported a previous history of alcohol use. 52% of current smokers indicated they were already "hooked" on cigarettes or anticipated a good chance of cigarette addiction five years later. In contrast, 94% of regular alcohol users indicated there was either no chance (71%) or only a mild chance (23%) of ever becoming an alcoholic. Six of every ten high school smokers surveyed reported that quitting cigarettes for three days would be difficult.