Facts about kids and tobacco

Almost all smokers start while they're young.

Nearly all first use of tobacco takes place before high school graduation. A 2007 survey from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that 50% of high school students had tried cigarette smoking at some point. In 2008, more than 1 out of 4 kids age 12 or older were current tobacco users -- this comes out to about 71 million American teens. Studies have shown that, for the most part, people who do not start using tobacco when they are teens never start using it.

The younger you are when you begin to smoke, the more likely you are to be an adult smoker. Almost 90% of adults who are regular smokers started at or before the age 19. And people who start smoking at younger ages are more likely to develop long-term nicotine addiction than people who start later in life.

Sources:
http://www.cancer.org/docroot/PED/content/PED_10_2X_Child_and_Teen_Tobacco_Use.asp?sitearea=PED


Tatarov Anton