Each day about 6,000 young people try a cigarette, and more than 3,000 of these young people become regular smokers. This equals over one million smokers a year. Teenagers who used other tobacco products were more likely to report smoking cigars. Starting smoking at an early age greatly increases the risk of lung cancer. A person's risk for most other smoking related cancers also rises with the length of time that a person smokes.
Young people tend to underestimate the addictiveness of nicotine.
Teen smoking is often an early warning sign of future problems. Teens who smoke are three times as likely as non-smokers to use alcohol, eight times as likely to use marijuana , and 22 times as likely to use cocaine. Smoking is also associated with numerous other risky behaviors, including fighting and having unprotected sex. The American Lung Association of the Northern Rockies received a grant in June 1997, from the National Center for Tobacco-Free Kids to organize communities in Montana to enact local clean indoor air ordinances. The first phase of this ordinance is under way in eight communities around the state, including Belgrade.