Users often progress from these substances to marijuana. Some users, including over half of the teenagers who use these substances, may eventually turn to other illegal drugs or combinations of drugs. Among African American students, whose low smoking rates over the past decade have been a public health success story, past-month cigarette smoking rates increased by an estimated 80 percent from 1991 to 1997. The medical evidence proving the health hazards of smoking is now beyond question. Tobacco use, including pipe and chewing tobacco, increases your risk of developing cancer, heart disease, stroke, and lung disease.
Tobacco use is the single most important preventable risk to human health.