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General Facts
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Nearly all first use of
tobacco occurs before high school graduation. If you can keep them from using
tobacco when they are adolescents, most people will never start using tobacco.
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Cigarette smoking causes
significant health problems among children and adolescents including coughing,
production of phlegm, more respiratory illnesses, decreased physical fitness, risk
for cardiovascular disease, and decreased lung growth and function.
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The younger you begin to
smoke, the more likely you are to be an adult smoker.
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Young people who begin to
smoke at an earlier age are more likely to develop long-term nicotine addiction than
later starters.
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Most young people who smoke
regularly are already addicted to nicotine and experience the same addiction as
adult smokers.
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Most adolescent smokers report
that they would like to quit smoking and have made many, usually unsuccessful
attempts to quit. Those who try to quit smoking report withdrawal symptoms similar
to those reported by adults.
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Adolescent tobacco users are
more likely to use alcohol and illegal drugs than are nonusers. Cigarette smokers
are also more likely to get into fights, carry weapons, attempt suicide, and engage
in high-risk sexual behaviors.
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Young people are the chief source of new consumers
for the tobacco industry, which each year, must replace the many consumers who quit
smoking and those who die from smoking-related diseases.
Tobacco use among middle school students
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In 1999, about 15% of middle
school students reported using some form of tobacco (cigarettes, smokeless, cigars,
pipes, bidis [flavored cigarettes], or kreteks [clove cigarettes]) at least once in
the past month.
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Cigarettes (9.2%) were the
most prevalent type of tobacco used, followed by cigars (6.1%).
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Cigarette smoking was similar among boys and girls,
but boys were more likely than girls to use smokeless tobacco, smoke cigars, and
smoke tobacco in a pipe.
Tobacco use among high school students
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Just over a quarter (29%) of
high school students smoked cigarettes in 2001. Teen smoking apparently peaked in
1997 at 36%. Nearly two-thirds (64%) of U.S. high school students have tried
cigarette smoking.
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In 1999, about 17% of high
school students described themselves as frequent smokers, but that fell to 14% in
2001. Frequent smoking was defined as smoking on 20 of the 30 days before the
survey.
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Regardless of race, male high
school students were more likely to use smokeless tobacco than female students.
White male students have the highest percentage of smokeless tobacco use (19%).
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Male students (25%) were more likely to smoke
cigars, cigarillos, or little cigars than female students (10%).
SOURCE:
http://www.cancer.org/docroot/PED/content/PED_10_2X_Children_Adolescents_and_Tobacco_Use.asp
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