However, they cannot quit any easier than adults can. In fact, it often seems to take hold as soon as the recent starter admits to himself that he is hooked on smoking. However the desire to quit, and actually carrying it out, are two quite different things, as the would-be quitter soon learns. Young people are aware of the dangers associated with smoking and nicotine addiction, but they do not believe that these dangers apply to them. Until they are in the grip of nicotine addiction, they greatly underestimate its power over them.
Nicotine meets the key criteria for addiction or dependence used by major medical organizations.
The marketplace for tobacco products is sustained by this addiction. For policy makers, the key fact is that young people are becoming addicted. Statements in internal documents by industry researchers and executives show their understanding that nicotine is addictive. The epidemic of addiction to nicotine among young people has enormous consequences for public health. Each year in the United States, more than 400,000 smokers die of smoking-related illnesses.