How many teens today smoke

Ads for cigarettes were all over the place. Today we're more aware about how bad smoking is for our health. Smoking is restricted or banned in almost all public places and cigarette companies are no longer allowed to advertise on TV, radio, and in many magazines. Almost everyone knows that smoking causes cancer, emphysema, and heart disease; that it can shorten your life by 10 years or more; and that the habit can cost a smoker thousands of dollars a year. So how come people are still lighting up? The answer, in a word, is addiction.

New U. The continuing popularity of electronic cigarettes and cigars — products that are widely available in sweet, kid-friendly flavors — is a particular cause for concern. For the fourth year in a row, e-cigarettes are the most commonly used tobacco product among both middle and high school students, while slightly more high school students now smoke cigars than cigarettes. Key survey findings include: Cigarettes: A record-low 7. The high school smoking rate has fallen by a remarkable 73 percent since , when 28 percent smoked.

Hookahs are no less addictive than other forms of tobacco smoking, and are at least as toxic as cigarette smoking. Between and , the percentage of high school seniors who had used a hookah in the last year decreased from 20 percent to 8 percent. It is less common in suburban and rural areas. E-cigarettes heat a liquid containing highly addictive nicotine and other chemicals to become an aerosol that is then inhaled by the user. The variety of flavors available, such as strawberry, cinnamon, and chocolate, are a primary reason for use among young e-cigarette users.

Enlarge this image A demonstrator holds a smoke flare during a protest last September against the French government's plan to change cigarette packaging to place greater emphasis on the health risks. The new packaging will be phased in over the next six months. The smoking rate in France remains high, particularly among young people. Especially young people. Some say they've been lighting up for about two years now and are up to a pack a day.