AFTER SEPTEMBER 11th
Helping students heal

Sadly, since September 11th, student worry and anxiety about the future have increased substantially. A study in New York showed a connection between a rise in teen smoking after September 11th and teens' new worries about the future.

Incredibly, between 1988 and 1998 the teen smoking rate had already soared by 73%. Now kids in New York City were smoking even more.

A CDC study suggested that the primary reasons for the national upsurge in the 90's were tobacco industry ads targeting youth, and a marked surge in smoking in movies during the 1990's.

In 1999, Smokefree America Executive Director Patrick Reynolds published a paper in the Stanford Medical Review, citing early 1990's research suggesting that today's teens had "a keen sense of diminished expectations," and increased concern and worry about the future.

Mr. Reynolds suggested in his paper that an additional, unnoticed cause of high youth smoking rates might be that too many students were feeling inwardly, My future is in doubt -- so why not smoke, try drugs or binge drink? Hey, I just want to have some fun while I can.

To address this, Mr. Reynolds added a section to his live talks and educational video. He aims to counteract the increasing worry and anxiety among our youth and to inspire confidence in the future.

The goal is to help empower students and fill them with a new motivation to "hold on to your health for the amazing years ahead, in the 21st Century. You'll need your health -- every precious bit of it -- in the incredible times ahead. So stay tobacco free and drug free!"

To read this section in text form, scroll down our Message to Youth page, and look for a title in red, Keep Your Faith in the Future!

For an online video clip of this section, please see our video & audio preview clips page, and click on clip 5.

You may also scroll down to the section in red on our educational video page.