By 2020, it is predicted that tobacco will cause more deaths worldwide than HIV, tuberculosis, maternal mortality, motor vehicle accidents, suicide and homicide combined. In many countries, children may grow up in a haze of tobacco smoke, wreaking further havoc with their health. Household money that is spent on tobacco reduces the amount available for food, education and medical care. Children may also suffer the emotional pain and financial insecurity that comes from the loss of a parent or caretaker who dies an untimely death due to tobacco. On another level are the pervasive pressures for young people to use tobacco.
People everywhere seem to be smoking.
Attractive advertisements and exciting tobacco promotions are difficult to resist. Especially when the price is affordable, and it's no problem for minors to buy tobacco. Even if the health risks are understood, the message that tobacco kills is not very relevant to young smokers, who believe themselves to be immortal. By the time they are ready to quit smoking, addiction has taken hold. These factors all contribute to the grim statistics.