It's estimated 3,000 teenagers start smoking each day. Most people begin smoking before the age of sixteen. Almost all first time cigarette use occurs by the time a student graduates from high school.
Most teenagers try their first cigarette with a friend who is already a smoker.
Friends, siblings, and advertising are powerful influences on teens who begin smoking. Cigarette smoke contains more than 4,000 chemicals. Two hundred of those chemicals are poisonous and forty-three are known to cause cancer. It is a major factor in coronary heart disease and stroke. Smoking is also associated with mild airway obstruction, slower development of lung function, lower maximum lung function.