While these numbers are troubling in their own right, what makes these figures even more frightening is that experimentation is being conducted by an extremely susceptible age group. People who do not smoke by the age of 21 have a less than 10 percent chance of becoming addicted to smoking . The preparatory stage is when a child forms a knowledge base about smoking and develops beliefs and expectations of the habit. With repeated smoking, however, a tolerance level is developed that in time yields positive effects. As the daily intake of nicotine increases, the development of physical dependence becomes established.
Experimentation is the repeated, albeit irregular use over an extended period of time.
Once a smoker reaches this stage, they are most often doomed to a life clouded in smoke complete with all its associated health risks to them, those who breath their smoke and costs to the rest of us. Gateway to Drug Use Perhaps the most alarming of all facts is that cigarette smoking is often a proven gateway to other drugs. A Department of Health and Human Services study shows that illegal drug use is virtually always preceded by tobacco use. Smoking can launch teens into a sequence of drug use that can send their lives and the lives of those around them spiraling out of control. Tobacco s Pathway to Profits Internal tobacco industry documents have recently been made public that prove that Big Tobacco has relied on its ability to hook teenagers on cigarettes in order to replace smokers at the other end of the age spectrum who either die or quit.