Smoking among Iowa’s young adults is higher than the national average, according to a report by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The report says 30.4 percent of the state’s 18- to 24-year-olds smoke, a figure considerably higher than the 24.8 percent nationally.

“We’ve seen higher smoking rates in the Midwest compared to the rest of the country, but we don’t know for sure why that is,” said Randy Mayer, program coordinator for Iowa State’s Student Health Center.

Mayer said one reason may be the promotion of tobacco to youth. He said tobacco companies have been spending more and more money on advertising and have become good at targeting youth.

“We know advertising has an effect because young people are switching over to brands that are highly promoted,” he said.

Another factor leading to the higher smoking rate is the “perception of youth,” Mayer said.

“Until the Clean Indoor Air Act was passed a few years ago, people smoked inside or in their offices,” he said. Now people smoke outside buildings, on their way to classes or in their cars.

“It’s a lot more visible, so people overestimate the actual percentage of people who smoke,” Mayer said. “Students see them and think it is the norm.”

A study conducted by the Student Health Center concerning tobacco use among ISU students suggests 36 percent of all students have smoked in the last 30 days. When broken down by gender, the rate is considerably higher for men, at 43 percent, than women, at 28 percent.

The study said 41 percent of freshmen have smoked in the last 30 days, compared with 32 percent of sophomores, 34 percent of juniors and 36 percent of seniors.

Another figure included in the study depicts the relationship between smoking and alcohol use. According to the study, 56 percent of binge drinkers, defined as those who have had more than five drinks in one sitting during the last two weeks, have smoked in the last 30 days. Only 8 percent of students who abstain from alcohol have smoked in the last 30 days.

These figures, however, do not necessarily indicate heavy smoking, Mayer said.

“The students may have just taken a puff on a friend’s cigarette or something,” he said. “It doesn’t mean they are regular smokers.”

In fact, the number of reported smokers in the residence halls actually has dropped in the last two years. In the fall of 1997, 270 of the 6,309 students living in the residence halls, or about 4.2 percent, requested a smoking room, said Kathy Wacker, manager of the residence department’s administrative services.

This fall, 242 of 7,552 students, or about 3.2 percent, requested smoking rooms, she said, showing a slight decrease in reported smokers.

In both years, more males than females requested smoking rooms, Wacker said. This fall, 142 males and 100 females requested smoking rooms, compared to 158 males and 112 females two years ago.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report also addresses the issue of smoking among high school students. According to the report, 37.5 percent of Iowa high school students smoke, compared with 36.4 percent nationally.

“I know smoking rates have gone up, but in-school smoking isn’t a problem,” said Larry Zwagerman, a guidance counselor at Ames High School, 1921 Ames High Drive. “It’s against the law to smoke on school grounds. We have an anti-smoking class which students get referred to if they do get caught smoking on campus.”

There are no solid reasons to explain why student smoking rates have increased, Zwagerman said.

“It appears to be the cool thing now,” he said. “About 10 years ago, it wasn’t cool at all.”

Zwagerman said he believes teen-agers smoke because it is viewed as bad by adult society.

“[Smoking] is risky behavior, and teens tend to get involved in risky behaviors,” he said. “Society says it’s bad, so teens think it’s cool.”