New York teens are balking at spending $7 for a pack of cigarettes, according to the state Health Department which reported that the teen smoking rate has fallen to 13.8 percent.

The Albany Times Union reported July 2 that New York's teen smoking rate has fallen 58 percent since 1997, and has continued to decline even as smoking rates level off nationally. High cigarette prices, indoor smoking bans and a state-funded antismoking campaign are credited for the success.

New York now has the nation's second-toughest smoking laws behind Utah, the American Lung Association says.

Teens "are very sensitive to cost increases, as the cost goes up they will decrease the amount that they smoke and it prevents them from becoming regular smokers," said Judy Rightmyer of the Capitol District Tobacco-Free Coalition in Troy, N.Y. "It will also prevent them from trying cigarettes."