Preserving funding and expanding education and prevention programs to decrease the incidence of youth substance abuse.
Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States.
Each day more than 3,300 children in the United States become regular smokers, according to the National Cancer Institute. More than 6,000 children try their first cigarette each day. Young people ages 12-17 who smoked were about 8 times as likely to use illicit drugs and 11 times as likely to drink heavily as nonsmoking youths. The number of adolescents who become daily smokers before the age of 18 increased by 73 percent between 1988 and 1996. Tobacco use among high-school seniors is at a 19 year high.