Children are becoming addicted to nicotine. The average teenage smoker starts at the age of 14 and becomes a daily smoker before age 18. More than 80 percent of all adult smokers tried smoking and became smokers by their 18th birthday. Studies show that if people do not begin to smoke as children or teenagers, it is unlikely they will ever do so.

Each and every day, another 3,000 young people will become regular smokers and nearly 1,000 of them will eventually die as a result of their smoking. Currently, more than 3 million children and adolescents smoke cigarettes, and 1 million adolescent boys use smokeless tobacco. In1996, the percentage of eighth graders who smoke increased 30 percent, 22 percent for tenth graders.

Tobacco companies need to recruit approximately 5,000 new young smokers every day to replace smokers who die or quit. A smoker who uses a pack a day will spend at least $1,000 a year on cigarettes. Most people who smoke or use tobacco begin daily use in grades 6-10.

Tobacco use takes an enormous, deadly toll each year. 434,000 Americans die each year from a disease linked to tobacco use. Cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products kill more Americans each year than AIDS, alcohol, car accidents, murders, suicides, illegal drugs and fires combined.