Tobacco use by teens and young adults remains shockingly high in the United States. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 3.6 million middle and high school students today smoke cigarettes. Nearly 4000 kids under the age 18 try their first cigarette every day.
Talbot Partnership for Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Prevention advises that while fewer adults are smoking today, cigarette companies have turned to young people as replacement smokers. For every person who dies due to smoking – more than 1200 each day – at least two youth or young adults become regular smokers.
Adolescence and young adulthood are the times when people are most susceptible to starting tobacco use. Cigarette companies use a wide variety of new products including flavored cigars and smokeless tobacco products, as well as marketing strategies to encourage new consumers to try their products. Tobacco advertising, portraying smokers as cool, sophisticated and fun, is often the largest and most visible advertising for any product.
New research shows that smoking during adolescence and young adulthood causes early damage to the heart and lungs. The younger people are when they start using tobacco, the more likely they are to become addicted to nicotine and the more heavily addicted they will become.
It is important for parents to educate their kids and help them make healthy choices. If young people don’t start using tobacco by age 26, they almost certainly will never start.
For more information of the dangers of tobacco and other drugs, contact Talbot Partnership at 410-819-8067.