Teenage Girls Tend to Smoke More Often than Boys

DR. WALLACE: I'm 18 and work as a part-time custodian at two high schools. From 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. on weeknights, I help clean the boys' and girls' restrooms. I am surprised at the number of cigarette butts I find in the girls' restrooms - there are a lot more than in the boys' restrooms.

Is it possible that more girls are smoking cigarettes these days than guys? — Ian, Halifax, Nova Scotia.

IAN: Your findings correspond with statistics from the Canadian Cancer Society, which indicate that smoking among teenage girls has been on the rise for years. Right now, 25 percent of Canadian girls between the ages of 13 through 19 smoke, as compared to 21 percent of the boys in the same age group.

The same is true in the United States. A 2007 American Cancer Society survey found that the percentage of teen girls who smoke was greater than the boys for the first time in 2005, and the percentage has been rising slowly every year since.

GIVE EX-BOYFRIEND A SECOND CHANCE

DR. WALLACE: Paul and I had been dating for over a year. Before he met me, he was going steady with Karla, but she dumped him for another guy. About a month ago, Karla decided she wanted Paul back and she got her wish; Paul broke up with me and returned to her. I was very hurt because Paul had told me he was glad to be rid of her.

Well, fate stepped in and changed things drastically. Karla and her family moved to California so they decided to end their relationship for good.

Last night, Paul called and said he was sorry he broke up with me; he wanted us to get back together. I care for him very much. He's a great guy and treated me like a lady every time we were together. I'd like to say yes, but my sister is telling me to "punish" him and refuse to go back with him.

Even my parents are split. My mom likes Paul - she thinks I should go back with him, and says if I don't I'll be making a huge mistake. My dad, who's a major in the U.S. Army, thinks that Paul is a "snake" and I'd be foolish to "slither" around with him again.

Please give me your advice. Paul and I are both 16. — Sandy, Indianapolis.

SANDY: Great guys who treat their dates like a lady are in short supply. Since you care for him and want to go out with him again, then go ahead. Playing the "punishment game," as your sister suggests, will get you nowhere. But go out with him with your eyes wide open, since he was fickle once. If it happens again, dump him for good.

GROWING DOESN'T STOP AT A SPECIFIC AGE

DR. WALLACE: I'm 14 and short for my age. When do people stop growing? My science teacher says that people can grow until they're 20, but my grandmother thinks he is crazy. She says that people stop growing at age 18, and that the teacher is just trying to make me feel good. — Vincent, Toledo, Ohio.

VINCENT: Most people reach their maximum height by age 18, but some keep growing until age 25. People stop growing when their bones do.

Grandmas are very bright people and are correct most of the time, but not this time.

Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. E-mail him at rwallace@galesburg.net. To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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