According to the 1995 Surgeon General's Report on the use of tobacco among young people:
- tobacco use primarily begins in early adolescence, typically by age 16; almost all first use occurs before the time of high school graduation
- 69% of respondents to the National Household Surveys on Drug Abuse aged 30 through 39 reported trying a cigarette by age 18
- of all persons who had ever tried a cigarette, 88% had done so by age 18
- the mean age of first trying a cigarette was 14.5 years of age 1
Tobacco companies provide very substantial subsidies to store owners to display cigarettes, both packs and "loosies" in prominent positions at check-out counters. The result is that many children shoplift cigarettes and become addicted, creating a life-time consumer of tobacco. |
