2003 Primary Prevention Awareness, Attitude, and Use Survey

Age of First Use of Cigarettes, Alcohol, and Marijuana

(PPAAUS items 37-39) Forty percent of the middle-school students who smoked reported that they had started smoking cigarettes when they were ten years old or younger. An average of 16 percent of the high-school students who smoked cigarettes said they started smoking before they were eleven years old, and 69 percent when they were between 11 and 15 years old. Twenty-eight percent of the juniors and seniors didn’t begin smoking cigarettes until they were 16 or older. The average age of first use of cigarettes for middle-school students was 11.0; for high-school students, it was 13.1.

Of the middle-school students who reported drinking, 37 percent said they had their first drink of alcohol before they were eleven years old. Nine percent of the high-school students who drank reported that they started drinking at age ten or younger, and 72 percent between the ages of 11 and 15. An average of 34 percent of the juniors and seniors who drank said they started drinking when they were 16 or older. The average age of first use of alcohol among sixth through eighth graders was 11.2; among high-school students, 13.7.

Nineteen percent of the Franklin County students in grades six through eight who smoked marijuana indicated they had started smoking at age ten or younger. An average of six percent of the high-school students who smoked marijuana started smoking at age ten or younger, and 74 percent started smoking between the ages of 11 and 15. An average of 34 percent of the juniors and seniors started smoking marijuana when they were 16 or older. The average age of first use of marijuana among middle-school students was 12.0; for high-school students, the average age of first use was 13.9.

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