SURVEY: HALF OF CAPE TEENS USE TOBACCO

The American Medical Association says 3,000 American teen-agers begin smoking every day.

Southeast Missouri State University students Brett Gibbs and Kevin Wallace just completed a survey of 100 students ages 16 to 18 at Cape Central and Notre Dame high schools, and they found that Cape Girardeau teens aren't excluded from the trend.

When the students were asked, "Do you use any tobacco products on a regular basis?" 49 percent of the boys and 53 percent of the girls said yes. Of the ones who replied yes, about half said their friends regularly use tobacco products also.

According to American Cancer Society research, about 66 percent of teen-agers in the United States try smoking

Gibbs, who has never used tobacco, said the figures sadden him. When he and Wallace chose to complete a community service project on teen-age smoking, it was simply to get a good grade; now the issue is more important for several reasons.

After years of saying she could quit smoking anytime she wanted, Gibbs' older sister recently admitted she was addicted and didn't see any possibility of quitting.

In the restaurant where Gibbs works, he regularly watches underage smokers light up.

The legal age for buying tobacco products in Missouri is 18, but cigarette machines don't ask questions. Neither do many convenience store workers.

Missouri Department of Health statistics show 4 percent more Cape Girardeau County teens smoke today than in 1992. Researchers say they start because of peer pressure and advertising that portrays smoking as sexy, cool or sophisticated.

Terri Hirsch, coordinator for the American Stop Smoking Intervention Study, said many young female smokers mention weight control as the reason they smoke.

ASSIST is a smoking prevention project in 17 states involved in stopping teen-agers from smoking before they start. Adults preaching about the evils of smoking isn't the only key to accomplishing the project's goal.

Wendy Welter, a 16-year-old student at Notre Dame High School, began smoking about a pack a week soon after her 15th birthday and quit six months ago. Friends and relatives supplied her with cigarettes.

"I thought it would help me relax -- that's what all my friends say it does for them," Welter said. "It didn't; it just kind of gave me a buzz and made it really hard for me to breathe."

After months of nagging, her boyfriend finally persuaded her to quit. Now she encourages her smoking friends to do the same.

Besides positive peer pressure, Gibbs and Wallace think stronger regulations may be the answer. Although their class project is complete, they will place stickers on cigarette machines and in convenience store windows warning that it is illegal to sell tobacco products to minors.

Later, they may approach the City Council and ask that more attention be given enforcement.