More than a million teenagers in the United States start smoking each year despite an increasing number of laws designed to keep them away from tobacco. States and towns have adopted or are considering laws that increase penalties for retailers who sell cigarettes to teens or fail to ask for proof of age.
Many communities ban vending machines.
In some places, teens caught smoking face community service, driver's license suspensions and even jail. Thousands of people across the country will try to give up cigarettes for the day Thursday during the Great American Smokeout. After more than 30 years of publicity on the health risks of smoking, millions have been unable to kick the habit. Most of them started as teenagers, experts say. In another survey, the University of California, San Diego, found that 4,800 teens try their first cigarette every day.