Teen Smokers on Decline in Needham

The town of Needham was one of the first in the United States to enact laws restricting tobacco sales to people under the age of 21. Since then, the smoking rates among high schoolers have dropped greatly, according to a study put out by the Tobacco Control Journal.

Since the limitations took effect in 2005, the smoking rates among Needham students dropped by nearly 50 percent in the first five years, the survey determined.

Smoking rates dropped from 13 percent to 7 percent between 2006 and 2010. The rates dipped as low as 5.5 percent in 2012.

The survey found that the smoking reduction in Needham was far superior than in neighboring towns that maintained 18 years old as the legal age.

Several cities and towns across the country have adopted Needham’s philosophy.

The study analyzed a survey of more than 16,000 students.