The survey, which was designed by the Florida Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), involved more than 20,000 middle and high school students who were asked questions about tobacco use. It revealed cigarette use fell from 15 percent in 1999 to 8.6 percent in 2000 among middle school students and from 25.2 percent to 20.9 percent for high school students over the same period.

This means that in 2000 alone, 48,760 middle and high school students have chosen not to smoke. Add that to the 31,000 who decided not to smoke in 1999, and Florida has 79,760 fewer youth smokers in 2000 when compared to 1998. Officials say that means 26,320 fewer premature deaths from smoking over the two-year period.

The drop in teen smoking has been attributed to the success of the Florida Tobacco Pilot Program, which is perhaps best known for its anti-tobacco "truth" marketing campaign geared to young people. "For the second year in a row, our young people tell us they?re hearing the message loud and clear," said Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. "The truth is smoking kills more people each year than car crashes, AIDS, alcohol, drug abuse, murders, suicides and fires combined."

The results of the 2000 Florida Youth Tobacco Survey were announced earlier this month at a press conference held by the Florida Department of Health and the Florida Tri-Agency Coalition on Smoking OR Health, which is a partnership of the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association and the American Lung Association.

The coalition is seeking $61 million in funding to continue the program, and Bush has included $44 million in his 2000-2001 budget. Funding for the program would come from the state?s $13.1 billion settlement with the tobacco industry.

The program focuses on education, enforcement and research. Its components include local partnerships in 67 counties ? including in-school and after-school instructional support at every grade level, smoking cessation programs for young people and a youth advocacy group called Students Working Against Tobacco.

"In two years, the program has produced unprecedented reductions in tobacco use among young people," said Robert G. Brooks, MD, secretary of the Florida Department of Health. "The challenge before us is to turn these tremendous gains into long-term results that will improve the overall health of our population. We are committed to maintaining the success of the program and focusing on further reduction of tobacco use among Florida?s youth."

Nationwide, about 12.8 percent of middle school students and 34.8 percent of high school students reported being current tobacco users in the 1999 National Youth Tobacco Survey, conducted by the American Legacy Foundation and the CDC Foundation with technical assistance from the CDC. Previous studies have suggested that most smokers ? as much as 88 percent ? try their first cigarette before age 18 and that those who start smoking at young ages are more likely to become heavy smokers and have a higher risk of dying from smoking-related causes.