High school students who smoke cigarettes are more likely to take risks such as ignoring seat belts, getting into physical fights, carrying weapons, and having sex at an earlier age. Most adult smokers started smoking before the age of 18. Tobacco use continues to be the most common cause of preventable disease and death in the United States. Cigarette smoking and tobacco use are associated with many forms of cancer.
Smoking is the main cause of lung and heart disease.
Smoking worsens existing medical problems, such as asthma, high blood pressure and diabetes. The earlier a person starts smoking, the greater the risk to his or her health and the harder it is to quit. If you smoke, quit. If you have not quit, do not smoke in front of your children and tell them you regret that you started. Do not allow smoking in your home and strictly enforce your No Smoking rule.