Tobacco Facts

The Surgeon General's Report for Kids about Smoking

6 Facts about Kids and Smoking

The SGR contains six major conclusions about kids and smoking:

1. Most people start using tobacco before they finish high school. This means that if you stay smoke-free in school, you will probably never smoke.

2. Most teens who smoke are addicted to nicotine. They want to quit smoking, but they can?t. When they try to quit, they experience nasty withdrawal symptoms -- just like adults do.

3. Tobacco is often the first drug used by kids who use alcohol and illegal drugs like marijuana.

4. Kids who start smoking are more likely to get lower grades in school. They tend to hang out with other kids who smoke. They may have a low self-image, and they don't know how to say no to tobacco.

5. Cigarette advertisements are designed to make people think that smoking is cool and that everybody does it. These misleading ads appear to increase kids' risk of smoking.

6. Finally, here's some good news! People working in their communities -- kids who warn each other about the dangers of smoking, for example, and programs that make it harder for stores to sell cigarettes to kids -- are helping to keep kids away from tobacco.

"Kids who smoke think they're cool... are they?"

The Real Deal

Only if by "cool" you mean kids who probably aren't doing very well in school. The SGR found that students with the highest grades are less likely to smoke than those with the lowest grades. The same is true for smokeless tobacco -- daily tobacco use is highest among drop-outs, lowest among college students.

Kids who smoke have lower self-images. They look to smoking because they think it will give them a better image -- cooler, maybe, or more attractive, or more popular. And because their self-image is low, they don't have the confidence to say no when someone wants them to use tobacco.