Youth and smoking
Each day about 2,000 people under 18 years of age smoke their first cigarette.
With more than 300 children under 18 years of age becoming habitual cigarette smokers, tobacco use—the number-one preventable cause of death and disease in the U.S.—remains steady. In fact, nearly 90% of adult tobacco users in the U.S. began using tobacco before their eighteenth birthdays.
Additionally, the popularity of e-cigarettes is also increasing tobacco use among youth. In just one year, the number of middle and high school students using e-cigarettes rose from 2.1 million in 2017 to 3.6 million in 2018.
Why do children start smoking?
If you ask young children, most will tell you that they never smoked and they will never smoke. However, as they get older, some youth become open to the idea of smoking and many are addicted before they finish high school. There are many contributing factors to someone picking up that first cigarette including:
- They have parents who smoke.
- Their friends encourage them to try cigarettes and keep smoking.
- They view smoking as a way of rebelling and being independent.
- The tobacco industry markets specifically to teenagers.
What can you do to help young people never pick up the habit?
Adults can provide strong, repeated messages on the importance of not using any tobacco products. If you are a smoker, throwing away your cigarettes and quitting for good today sends a powerful message to the children in your life.
If you or someone you care about wants to quit smoking, health care providers at the In-Store Clinics and MDLive are on hand to support you in your plans to be tobacco-free from cigarettes or other forms of tobacco. There are additional educational materials available in the Walgreens Answer Centers on walgreens.com to support you as well.
Updated on August 12, 2019
Sources:
"Why kids start smoking," American Lung Association. Web. 6 June 2019. https://www.lung.org/stop-smoking/smoking-facts/why-kids-start-smoking.html
"Youth and tobacco use," Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Web. 6 June 2019. https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/youth_data/tobacco_use/index.htm
"Fast facts and fact sheets," Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Web. 6 June 2019. https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/index.htm?s_cid=osh-stu-home-spotlight-001