Tobacco has been linked to lung cancer, oral cancer and many other cancers. Students who use tobacco are three times more likely to use alcohol, eight times more likely to use marijuana and 22 times more likely to use cocaine than their peers who don't smoke. You are a target. Tobacco companies need new smokers, so they spend billions of dollars on ad campaigns designed to make smoking look desirable. The reason is simple.
Some smokers quit, many die.
Tobacco companies need to replace the customers they lose. Once you start, you are likely to remain a customer for the rest of your life, so the companies find the billions of dollars they spend recruiting users to be a worthwhile investment. Society is becoming less tolerant of second-hand smoke. Many stores and restaurants now do not allow smoking. And many workplaces, including most in Maryland, do not allow smoking.