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BEAUMONT, Texas (AP) - Teenagers in a southeast Texas county were more likely to smoke cigarettes if they or their family members were affected by Hurricanes Katrina or Rita, according to a university study.
The study by the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston surveyed more than 5,100 middle school and high school students in Jefferson County six to nine months after the hurricanes made landfall.
"The physical damage was easy to see, but the psychological damage from the hurricanes was pretty well hidden," said Alfred L. McAlister, a behavioral scientist and an author of the study. "The hurricanes had an emotional impact on the youth and we need to recognize that and give them the help they need. Otherwise, they use tobacco as a crutch and then they become addicted."
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