Tobacco Use and Young People

"Tobacco use is a global epidemic among young people. As with adults, it poses a serious health threat to youth and young adults in the United States and has significant implications for this nation’s public and economic health in the future (Perry et al. 1994; Kessler 1995). The impact of cigarette smoking and other tobacco use on chronic disease, which accounts for 75% of American spending on health care (Anderson 2010), is well-documented and undeniable. Although progress has been made since the first Surgeon General’s report on smoking and health in 1964 (U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare [USDHEW] 1964), nearly one in four high school seniors is a current smoker. Most young smokers become adult smokers."