Sixth: "Smoking and Teens Fact Sheet"

"Cigarette smoking during childhood and adolescence produces significant health problems among young people, including cough and phlegm production, an increase in the number and severity of respiratory illnesses, decreased physical fitness, an unfavorable lipid profile and potential retardation in the rate of lung growth and the level of maximum lung function. Most importantly this is when an addiction forms which often persists into adulthood. "

"-Each day, 6,000 children under 18 years of age smoke their first cigarette. Almost 2,000 of them will become regular smokers - that's 757,000 annually.
-After a dramatic increase in teen cigar smoking throughout the 80s and early 90s cigar smoking declined 30% since 1997. In 2004, 12.8 percent of high school students and 5.2 percent of middle school students were current cigar users.
-In 2004, 6.0 percent of all high school students and 2.9 percent of middle school students used smokeless tobacco.
-Although smokeless tobacco use previously was uncommon among adolescents, older teens began using it between 1970 and 1985, at the same time that the smokeless tobacco industry was strengthening their marketing efforts.
-Other tobacco products used by high school and middle school students includes pipes (3.1% and 2.6%), bidisI (2.6% and 2.3%) and kreteksII (2.3% and 1.5%).
-Tobacco use is associated with alcohol and illicit drug use, and acts as a "gateway drug." Adolescents (12-17 year olds) who reported having smoked in the past 30 days were three times more likely to use alcohol, eight times more likely to smoke marijuana, and 22 times more likely to use cocaine, within those past 30 days than those 12-17 year olds who had not smoked during that time.
-Tobacco use in adolescence is also associated with a range of other risky, health-compromising behaviors, including being involved in fights, carrying weapons, engaging in high-risk sexual behavior, and using alcohol and other drugs.
-People who begin smoking at an early age are more likely to develop severe levels of nicotine addiction than those who start at a later age. Of adolescents who have smoked at least 100 cigarettes in their lifetime, most of them report that they would like to quit, but are not able to do so.
-In 2000, 59 percent of high school and 60 percent of middle school students who smoked seriously tried to quit smoking. In 2003, 61 percent of high school students said they wanted to stop smoking and 54 percent seriously tried to quit.
-Peers, siblings, and friends are powerful influences. The most common situation for first trying a cigarette is with a friend who already smokes.
-Youth who have two parents who smoke are more than twice as likely as youth without smoking parents to become smokers. More than 6 million youth (23 percent) are exposed to secondhand smoke daily, and more than 10 million youth aged 12 to 18 live in a household with at least one smoker.
-Among middle school students who were current smokers, 71% reported never being asked to show proof of age when buying cigarettes in a store, and 66% were not refused purchase because of their age.
-The 1998 Master Settlement Agreement prohibited tobacco companies from advertising their product in markets that target people younger than 18 years of age. However, this ban has not sufficiently accomplished its intended goal of curtailing tobacco exposure in children.
-Cigarette advertisements tend to emphasize youthful vigor, sexual attraction and independence themes, which appeal to teenagers and young adults struggling with these issues. A recent study found that 34% of teens begin smoking as a result of tobacco company promotional activities.
-Another study found that 52 percent of teens with non-smoking parents started smoking because of exposure to smoking in movies."



American Lung Association. 22 Jan.2007