<p>I just went for a physical and the usual form asks about smoking habits. I just started thinking about how smoking was so prevalent at college in the 70’s and during post college days in the city. I don’t know anyone who smokes anymore, hardly. My kids aren’t college age, yet, but is there alot of smoking among the college aged set now?</p>
<p>i’d guess fifty percent or so… maybe more or less depending what type of school you’re at…</p>
<p>It’s much lower than it was when I was in college. Fendergirl, I’m not sure where you are at college but for my three Ds who are currently college kids, it’s nowhere near 50% at their campuses. For two of them, I’d say it’s probably around 10% and for the other I’d be surprised if it’s even 25%. For the two around 10%, I know this to be true because they’re both in Toronto and smoking is pretty much verboten anywhere anymore. For the other D who is at NYU, seeing students smoking is pretty rare (cigarettes anyway! ;)). NYC is also a city, though, which has pretty tough no-smoking laws so maybe that’s the key.</p>
<p>Thinking about my own circle of friends, and my husband’s, and family friends, and relatives, I can only think of one smoker, a nephew who’s 22.</p>
<p>Lots of kids hanging out in front of dorms smoking. (That’s what we saw on numerous college visits, and that’s how it is at my son’s college) I would really like to see some stats. It’s too easy to overestimate if you are in the midst of smokers and hate it, or underestimate if you are not on the college campus.</p>
<p>A lot of college age kids are “social smokers.” They will smoke only when they are drinking, or when their friends are around. The number does approach 50% if you include these types of smokers. Regular smokers is between 20% and 25%. Also depends on area of the country. More in midwest, not so much on the coasts.</p>
<p>Here’s a Harvard study from 1998:</p>
<p>December 11, 1998 – Over the next few years, colleges will be graduating more young business men and women, nurses, and teachers. And more of them will be leaving the halls of academia as habitual smokers.
According to a study by the Harvard School of Public Health, smoking among college students is up 27.8 percent since 1993. Researchers surveyed 15,103 students at 140 colleges and universities in the US. In 1997, researchers surveyed 93 percent of the original colleges again, and compared the findings. The results were published in the November 18, 1998 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).</p>
<p>“Cigarette use is increasing on campuses nationwide in all groups and types of colleges,” the researchers wrote. “Substantial numbers of college students are both starting to smoke regularly and trying to quit. National efforts to reduce smoking should be extended to college students.”</p>
<p>According to the study, the number of students who said they had smoked within the past 30 days rose from 22.3 percent to 28.5 percent; the number of students who reported having smoked within the past year increased from 31.6 percent to 38.5 percent; and the number of students who admitted smoking at least once in their lifetime climbed from 47.5 percent to 54.3 percent.</p>
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<p>I doubt that number has gone down. I guess my 50 percent number probably is a little on the high end, but it also depends on where you go to school like mentioned above. I’m sure less than 50 percent of the people at my college smoked, but i know a lot of people did. I personally can’t stand it and won’t hang around anyone that smokes and it would drive me crazy to see people standing outside the buildings smoking. :P</p>
<p>
Well they can no longer smoke inside the building, or on the train, or at the library, or on a plane, or at the airport, or at sports stadia and arenas, or at restuarant, or at bars, or at day care centers, or at work, or near a hospital, or at a nursing home, or in their own homes (apparently if it bothers a neighbor) SO WHERE THE FORK ARE PEOPLE SUPPOSED TO SMOKE? On the roof? but then the roofers and HVAC guys might get offended (if they all already didn’t smoke) If you are going to allow blacks and women at colleges, you have to give smokers a place near the building to smoke. Oh thats right some colleges have banned that. The problem is that no politician will stand up for anything like this because some stupid stand.com commercial will label him “pro tobacco.” Then they end up raising taxes on cigarettes again.</p>
<p>Smokers may smoke when a) they’re being burned at the stake or b) in the privacy of their own home or vehicle if children and non-consenting adults are not present. </p>
<p>There used to be a guy who smoked in front of me in my seats at the Rose Bowl (open air stadium). Completely obnoxious. They changed the law more than a decade back. Good.</p>
<p>Smokers’ rights end at other peoples noses and sinuses.</p>
<p>I get really sick when i’m around it. It sets off my allergies and soon i’m coughing and sneezing and my heads completely stuffed up and i’m ready to puke. Which is exactly why i dislike bars 
I don’t like walking through the crowd of smokers to get into a building, because by the time i get through i’m going to be coughing.</p>
<p>A good percentage of kids at my High School smoke (private school). No one is allowed to smoke on campus, but kids leave to smoke during lunch. All of them started as “social smokers,” convinced they would only smoke while drinking. But, of course, all of them began smoking with more frequency, and now they smoke during lunch. So, basically, yes, a lot of kids smoke. But I never felt pressured to or anything like that.</p>
<p>At the parent’s session for orientation, we were warned that the rate of smoking on my son’s campus was extremely high, and to expect that our sons/daughters would come home after the first year as smokers. I don’t see that happening with our son, but who knows…</p>
<p>I think alot of baby boomers grew up watching their parents smoke. I did. It was glamourised in movies then, too. But then the boomers started to quit…and I’d think their kids (in college now) would find it repulsive. Guess not. I was up to almost 3 packs a day when I was single living in NYC…thought it was cool. Disgusting. Can’t believe I ever did it!</p>
<p>Baby Boomers grew up with smoking parents, friends and many smoked as well. Then they saw older friends and relatives in their 60s die of lung diseases and cancer.</p>
<p>Exactly, Overseas. That’s why we all started quitting in droves. My kids know that 3 of their grandparents lost their lives to smoking related illnesses and abhor smoking. I just don’t understand why more don’t think that way. Maybe its just youth…a feeling of immortality.</p>
<p>As a current student, I’d have to say the percentage is higher than you would think. Exactly what is said happens…social smokers start smoking more and more frequently. And it is definitely a social thing.</p>