Facts About Teen Smoking

You want to know more about smoking and teens, right?  But you probably don't want to read a whole book on it - so here's some factoids for you to digest and pass on to your friends!

• 80% of adult smokers started smoking before the age of 18.  So that means that almost all smokers started smoking when they were teens. (CDC, 1999)
• Each day, the tobacco industry loses about 3,000 customers... 1,000 die from tobacco related illnesses, and another 2,000 quit.  They need to make up that loss in customers or they'll go out of business, right?  Well guess what?  3000 American teens start smoking every single day. It's pretty interesting how those numbers match, huh?
• The average age when someone tries tobacco for the first time is 13. And 1/3 to 1/2 of kids who experiment with smoking become regular smokers. (SGR, 1994)  
• Some people find it really hard to quit smoking (or they never bother trying).  Of those unable or unwilling to quit, nearly half will eventually die from a smoking related illnes.
• Since 3,000 American kids start smoking every day, and since tobacco is the leading preventable cause of death, that makes nicotine addiction the most common lethal condition of childhood.
• Up to 26,000 children are diagnosed with asthma every year in the U.S. because their mother smoked at least 10 cigarettes a day.
• Only 5% of teens in high school who smoke daily think they'll definitely be smoking five years later.  But if you come back and talk to them 7 years later, guess how many will still be smokers?  Almost 75%!! (NIDA, 1993)
• Most adolescents who smoke are addicted to nicotine.  When young people try to quit smoking, they experience withdrawal symptoms very similar to those experienced by adults. (SGR, 1994)  And it's no wonder!  Nicotine is more addictive than heroin!!
• Nicotine has a 90% addiction rate.  Alcohol has a 10% addiction rate.  This means that while only 10% of people who use Alcohol will become addicted to it, 90% of people who use nicotine will become addicted.
• More than 5 million children living today will die prematurely because of a decision they will make as teens - the decision to smoke cigarettes.
• 70% of teen smokers say they wish they'd never started smoking in the first place.
• Middle school is a dangerous time when it comes to tobacco use.  Smoking increases a lot during those years - more than a third of sixth graders have smoked.  How about the seventh graders?  More than half of them have smoked.  By the time young people get to eighth grade, more than two-thirds of them have smoked cigarettes! 
• Peer pressure - it's more than just a buzz word.  Over half of smoking teens say that they first smoked with a close friend.  Stick with friends that don't try to get you to do something that could kill you!
• Smoking could affect your love life!  Have you ever heard the saying "Kissing a smoker is like licking an ashtray"?  Two out of every three nonsmokers say they would be less likely to date someone who smokes.