A survey of more than 7,500 middle and high school students in North Carolina shows teen smoking at historic lows, WRAL-TV 5 reported April 15.

The Youth Tobacco Survey, considered the definitive study of middle and high school student tobacco use in North Carolina, revealed that nearly 79 percent of middle school students and over 51 percent of high school students have never smoked.

The number of middle school students who smoke in the state has dropped to 4.5 percent and high school student smoking has dropped to 19 percent. The report estimates that 34,000 fewer teens are smoking since 2003.

More than 7,500 middle and high school students from 191 schools and 74 school districts (plus one charter) participated in the survey administered by the North Carolina Tobacco Prevention and Control Branch.