Fewer Girls Are Smoking, But Change Is Uneven
Rates of cigarette smoking among girls in the eighth grade rose during the early 1990s but then fell sharply between 1995 and 2007. However, racial and ethnic differences persist. Smoking during the past 30 days was highest among American Indian girls and lowest among girls who are black, Asian American, and Latina (but not Mexican American or Puerto Rican). Low socioeconomic status was linked with girls' increased risk of smoking, independent of race and ethnicity.
Source
Analyses of data from about 36,000 girls who participated in the University of Michigan's Monitoring the Future study reported in Wallace, J.M., Jr., et al. Race/ethnicity, socioeconomic factors, and smoking among early adolescent girls in the United States. Drug and Alcohol Dependence 104 Supplement 1:S42–S49, 2009. [Full Text (PDF, 762KB)]