USPSTF Recommends Interventions to Prevent Tobacco Use in Kids

By Amy Orciari Herman

Primary care clinicians should provide interventions, including education and behavioral counseling, to school-aged children and adolescents to prevent them from starting tobacco use, according to an updated recommendation statement from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (grade B recommendation).

In 2003, the task force concluded that the evidence was insufficient to make such a recommendation. Since then, new evidence has emerged, allowing the USPSTF to conclude "with moderate certainty that primary care-relevant behavioral interventions ... have a moderate net benefit." The group notes that "even very minimal interventions," such as mailing educational information to a child's home, can have "substantial effects."

The USPSTF's statement is available free online in the Annals of Internal Medicine.