Chances are you will hear the tale of a child. Tobacco products contain the highly addictive drug nicotine, and nicotine addiction most often begins in childhood and adolescence. Recent data from the American Council on Science and Health and the American Medical Association estimate that more than three million youths smoke, and another one million use smokeless tobacco. A new survey by the University of Michigan found that between 1991 and 1994, regular smoking among eighth graders increased 30 percent, and among tenth graders, smoking increased 22 percent. More than 75 percent of under-aged high school students were not asked to show proof of age when they purchased cigarettes.
Advertising is another factor encouraging children to smoke.
It is not that children see an ad and start smoking, but seeing the ads and handling the cigarette packs and the promotional gifts lessens their resistance, weakens their resolve, so that later on they will be somewhat more willing to accept a cigarette from a peer when it is offered.