Average Age Youth First Smoke Cigarettes

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Number of Average Age at Which Students First Reported Smoking All or Part of a Cigarette, All Available Years: by Grade, Gender, and Region

20072010
MaleFemaleTotalMaleFemaleTotal
Minnesota6th101010111111
9th121212121312
12th141414141414
All Grades131313131313
East Central6th101010111011
9th121212121212
12th141414141414
All Grades121313131313
Metro6th101010111111
9th121212121313
12th141414141514
All Grades131313131413
Non-Metro6th101010111011
9th121212121212
12th141414141414
All Grades131313131313
Northwest6th101010111011
9th121212121212
12th141414141414
All Grades131313131313
Northeast6th101111101111
9th121212121212
12th141414141414
All Grades131313131313
Southeast6th101010111011
9th121212121312
12th141414141414
All Grades131313131313
Southwest6th101010111011
9th121212121212
12th141414141414
All Grades131313131313
West Central6th101010101111
9th121212121212
12th141414141414
All Grades131313131313

About the Indicator: These data are valuable for planning and reporting purposes.  Some grantees are required to report age of first use as one their GPRA measures.  In addition, prevention planners may use data about age of first use as one factor in determining when to initiate prevention programs, policies, and practices.  In Minnesota, no person under 18 may possess, use, purchase or attempt to purchase tobacco products or tobacco-related devices (Minn. Stat. § 609.685).  N/A indicates that the data are unavailable or were not collected.

Data Source: Minnesota Student Survey (MSS)

Description: The MSS is a confidential and anonymous self-administered survey given to students attending Minnesota public, charter and tribal schools. From 1995 to 2010, the survey was administered to students in 6th, 9th, and 12th grades. New in 2013, the survey was administered to students in 5th, 8th, 9th, and 11th grades. Trend data are now only available for 9th graders, and only for survey questions that did not change. Most schools elect to participate in the survey; in 2013, this included 84% of public schools in Minnesota.

Although the data are not presented here, the survey is also administered to area learning centers, juvenile correction facilities and private schools electing to participate.

Sponsored by: Minnesota Department of Education

Geographic Level: State, Region, and County

Aggregated data at the state and county level do not reveal disparities that may exist within a given geographic area.

Frequency: Data collected and reported every three years

Characteristics: The results of the MSS are also available at a county level. Data Privacy requirements mandate that data is presented in a manner such that no individual student can be identified through the presentation of the results. As part of the Data Privacy practices, the results are also presented in a manner that no individual school district could be identified through the results. Therefore, for counties that have only one school district, the results are not presented. Results are also withheld for counties in which the minimum number for student participation was not met.

The MSS is a “census” of schools, not a sample. The school districts get their own data. Fifth-graders were not asked all substance use questions. Some school districts do not participate, and student participation within the school district can vary widely. These data are self-reported.