Every day, about 3,000 people under 18 pick up the habit. A pack of cigarettes can cost more than a fast-food lunch. A new tax that became effective Jan. 1 has pushed the price even higher. Yet smoking among young people is on the rise. Young people ages 16 to 24 interviewed across Southern California say it was often someone in their family who led them down that road, usually a relative they wanted to emulate, or a friend.
Some young people are social smokers, lighting up only at parties or when they go out.
I know I have to cut down. Steve Sussman, an associate professor of preventive medicine at USC, said young people typically don't pay attention to the links between smoking and adverse health effects. After the initial curiosity, the ability to smoke becomes a skill, an accomplishment, Sussman said. There's a physiological reward. When they think they have learned how to use tobacco, it really means their bodies have given up their warning signs like coughing and nausea.