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                  | Home  >  Resources  >  Youth & Tobacco FactsYouth & Tobacco Facts 
                      
                        
                          Approximately 2.7 million youth under the age of 18 were smokers in 2005.
                        
                          Among youth ages 12-17, the rate of cigarette use in the previous month declined from 13.0% in 2002 to 10.8% in 2005.
                        
                          Among the 23% of U.S. high school students who reported current cigarette use, 54.6% have tried to quit.
                        
                          According to a CDC report, 70% of adolescent smokers wish they had never started smoking in the first place.
                        
                          In 2004, 86.6% of high school students reported seeing actors using tobacco on television and in the movies; 38.6% saw advertisements for tobacco on the Internet.
                        
                          Studies have estimated that exposure to smoking in the movies leads ~390,000 adolescents to start smoking each year.
                        
                          Among current cigarette smokers under the age of 18 years, 63.4% were not asked to show proof of age when purchasing cigarettes, and 61.2% were not refused purchase because of age.
                        
                          Young people with friends and family members who smoke are more likely to be smokers.
                        
                          Youth are more likely to quit if a parent who smoked successfully quit.
                        
                          Studies have shown that early signs of heart disease and stroke can be found in adolescents who smoke.
 References 
                      Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Results from the 2005 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: National Findings. Rockville, MD, 2006.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Results from the 2005 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: National Findings. Rockville, MD, 2006. 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance – United States, 2005. MMWR Surveillance Summaries. 2006;55(SS05):1-108. 
Fiore MC, Bailey WC, Cohen SJ, et al. Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence: Clinical Practice Guideline. Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service; 2000.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Tobacco Use, Access, and Exposure to Tobacco in Media among Middle and High School Students -- United States, 2004. MMWR. 2005;54(12):297-301.
Charlesworth A, Glantz SA. Smoking in the movies increases adolescent smoking: a review. Pediatrics. 2005;116(6)1516-1528. 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Youth Tobacco Surveillance – United States, 2001-2002. MMWR. 2006;55(SS3):15-16.
Holden DJ, Hund LM, Gable JM, Mowery P. Legacy First Look Report 11. Youth Tobacco Cessation: Results from the 2000 National Youth Tobacco Survey. Washington DC: American Legacy Foundation; 2003.
Farkas AJ, Distefan JM, Choi WS, Gilpin EA, Pierce JP. Does parental smoking cessation discourage adolescent smoking? Preventive Medicine. 1999;28:213-218. 
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Preventing Tobacco Use among Young People, A Report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 1994. |  |  |