The deadly truth about smoking:
Did you know that more than 3,000 teenagers and children begin smoking every day!
That's not good news. Smoking kills more teenagers than anything else and lung
cancer
is a leading cause of death among all people. Find out why lighting up is never a
good
idea.
Facts About and Consequences of Smoking
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Comparative Causes of Annual Deaths in the United States
More than 4 times as many teenagers are killed by smoking than with anything else!
Number of Deaths per year*
Tobacco use remains the leading preventable cause of death in the United States, causing
more than 400,000 deaths each year and resulting in more than $50 billion in direct
medical costs. More than 3,000 teenagers and children begin smoking every day.
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1. Each day more than 3,000 American teenagers start smoking. At least 3.1 million
adolescents are current smokers.
2. Tobacco is often the first drug used by young people who use alcohol and illegal
drugs.
3. Peers, siblings, and friends are powerful influences. Over 50 percent of teens report
smoking their first cigarette with a friend.
4. Spit tobacco is definitely not a safe alternative to cigarettes.
5. Teens become dependent on nicotine as quickly as adults, and find it just as difficult
to quit.
6. The tobacco industry spends over $5.2 billion a year on advertising to convince
young
people they should take up smoking.
7. Tobacco advertising increases young people's risk of smoking by conveying that smoking
has social benefits and is far more common than it really is.
8. Advertising aimed at women increases smoking among teenage girls.
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Smoking is a bad habit that results in terrible consequences, especially if it is exposed
to children at a young age.
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Children and Tobacco: The Facts
"While cigarette companies claim that they do not intend to market to children, their
intentions are irrelevant if advertising affects what children know. RJ Reynolds
Tobacco Company is as effective as the Disney Channel in reaching 6-year-old
children. Given this fact and the known health consequences of smoking, cigarette
advertising may be an important health risk for children."
-- Fischer, et al., Journal of the American Medical Association, December 11, 1991. March
1995.
Teenagers respond to tobacco advertising
The Surgeon General has concluded that tobacco advertising and promotion do appear to
stimulate cigarette consumption.
1. About 85 percent of adolescent smokers prefer either Marlboro, Newport, or
Camel, the three most heavily advertised cigarette brands.
2. After the Joe Camel campaign was introduced, Camel's market share among
underage smokers jumped from 0.5 percent to 32.8 percent in three years.
3. Tobacco advertisements are appealing to kids Tobacco advertising
emphasizes themes (sexual attraction, social acceptance, thinness, and independence) which
appeal to youth.
4. Six year olds are familiar enough with cigarette advertising that they match
the 'Old Joe' Camel character with cigarettes as often as they pair Mickey Mouse
with the Disney Channel.
5. When asked what cigarette brand was most frequently advertised, only 13.7
percent of adults named Camel, compared to 28.5 percent of adolescents (12 to 17 years
old). Recognition of the Joe Camel campaign was highest among 12 and 13 year olds.
6. Children are frequently exposed to tobacco advertising Cigarette
advertising expenditures for promotional items such as hats, t-shirts, and key chains
quadrupled, from $184 million to $756 million, between 1991 and 1993. These items
bear no health warnings and are easily obtained by kids.
7. Thirty percent of kids (12 to 17 years old), both smokers and nonsmokers, own
at least one tobacco promotional item.
8. While overall cigarette advertising in magazines has declined sharply, the
number of ads per issue in magazines with substantial youth readership has remained
constant.
9. The public supports regulation designed to prevent teenage tobacco
use According to a recent survey, adults overwhelmingly support measures which would
prohibit tobacco advertising which appeals to children. Seventy-one percent favor
extending regulation of nicotine products, such as patches and gum, to cigarettes;
73 percent believe tobacco ads without pictures and cartoons would make smoking less
appealing to kids; 74 percent think cigarette pack coupons for promotional items
which appeal to youth should be eliminated.
10. Sixty-one percent of adults believe that the tobacco industry encourages
teenagers to smoke.
11. According to a March 1996 poll, 88 percent of Americans think their member of
Congress should support the Food and Drug Administration's proposal to stop the sale
and marketing of cigarettes to children; 47 percent said they would be less likely
to vote for a local member of Congress who was accepting campaign contributions from
the tobacco companies; and 81 percent of Americans do not trust tobacco companies to
promote voluntary restrictions on the sale and marketing of their products
to children. (Global Strategy Group, for the American Heart Association, March 19,
1996.)
