The heaviest smokers at age 15 are in Finland, where a quarter of boys and nearly as many girls are regular daily smokers. The new statistics also show a rise in the numbers of girls who smoke cigarettes.
Smoking kills about half of persistent smokers who take up the habit in adolescence.
Most of the data given below come from a survey conducted in 1993 and 1994 as part of a continuing effort to monitor patterns of health behaviour among young people in industrialized nations. In total, over 100,000 young people completed the anonymous questionnaires. The survey results will be published in full later this year. Most people know smoking is dangerous - but few know how dangerous. Half of those who take up the habit in adolescence will die from it.