FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Elizabeth Bridgers
(404)329-7544
Joann Schellenbach
(212)382-2169

TEN REASONS TO KEEP TEENAGERS TOBACCO-FREE

1. Every day, more than 3,000 adolescents in the United States smoke their first cigarette, taking the first step toward becoming regular smokers by the time they reach adulthood.

2. Forty percent of teenagers who smoke daily have tried to quit and failed.

3. Eighty-nine percent of all people who ever try a cigarette try by age 18. Of people who have ever smoked daily, 71% were smoking daily by age 18.

4. Ninety percent of new smokers are children and teens. These "new" smokers "replace" the smokers who quit or die prematurely from smoking-related diseases. Youth are encouraged to start smoking by friends and family who smoke, tobacco advertising and promotion, and the easy availability of tobacco.

5. Nicotine is addictive; in fact, the risk of becoming addicted to nicotine is between one in three and one in two. The risk of becoming dependent on alcohol with regular use is one in nine; while the risk for crack or cocaine used intravenously is one in four.

6. More than 80% of young people who smoke one pack or more of cigarettes a day report that they "need" or are dependent on cigarettes.

7. Among addictive behaviors, cigarette smoking is the one most likely to take hold during adolescence.

8. Forty-two percent of young people who smoke as few as three cigarettes go on to become regular smokers.

9. Seventy percent of adolescent smokers say they would not have started if they could choose again.

10. In 1993, 19% of high school seniors smoked cigarettes daily - that's an increase from 17% in 1992.

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