Dick Durbin: “Every day approximately 3,000 children start smoking for the first time and 30 percent of all high school seniors are…”

“Every day approximately 3,000 children start smoking for the first time and 30 percent of all high school seniors are smokers. Half of all new smokers begin before the age of 14, 90 percent before the age of 21, and the average age of the first use of smokeless tobacco products is under the age of 10. Use of tobacco products has been linked to serious health problems. However, because the nicotine in tobacco is an addictive substance, many tobacco users find it difficult to stop using tobacco once they have started. Drug education and prevention programs that include tobacco have been effective in reducing teenage use of tobacco. Drug prevention programs for youth that address only controlled drugs send an erroneous message that the use of tobacco does not have adverse consequences.”