GTCC Tobacco Use Prevention

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General Information

Youth and Tobacco

  • Spit tobacco is used by 6% of teenagers 16-17 years old. ¹
  • More than 6 million youth under the age of 18 use tobacco. ²
  • 60% of smokers begin smoking by the age of 14; 90% begin smoking by the age of 19.²
  • More than 50% of adolescents age 12 to 13 years old think there are benefits to smoking. ¹
  • If adolescents can be kept tobacco-free, most will remain tobacco-free for the rest of their lives. ³
  • The earlier a child starts using tobacco, the more likely it is that he/she will be unable to quit. ²
  • Nicotine, an addictive substance found in cigarettes, may be harder to quit than heroin or cocaine. ²
  • Young smokers are 15 times more likely than nonsmokers to "graduate" to illegal drugs. ²
  • More than one-half of high school seniors who smoke have tried without success to quit smoking. ²

1. Pierce JP, et al. Tobacco Use in California, Sacramento, California Department of Health Services, 1992.
2. Pierce JP, Evans N. Farkas AJ, et al. Tobacco Use in California, An Evaluation of the Tobacco Program, La jolla, California, 1989-1993, San Diego: University of California, 1994.
3. Preventing Tobacco Use Among Young People: A Report by the Surgeon General, U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare, Public Health services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Washington, D.C., 1994.

Why Young People Use Tobacco

  • Elevates mood
  • Sustains attention span
  • Facilitates memory (sharper)
  • Reduces negative feelings
  • Serves as a stress reducer, relaxes muscles
  • Suppresses appetite
  • Sociability and popularity issue
  • New users get a "drug-buzz"
  • Making a statement or an identity issue

Adapted from the 1988 Surgeon General's Report; The Health Consequences of Smoking; Nicotine Addiction

Tobacco Is a Predictor of Other Drug Use

"When cigarettes and another of these dependence producing drugs (alcohol, marijuana or cocaine) have been used by the same individual, cigarette use usually is the first of the two drugs used...!" ¹

Teenagers Who Smoke Are...²

  • 14 times more likely to abuse alcohol
  • 100 times more likely to use marijuana
  • 32 times more likely to use cocaine

1. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Nicotine Addiction. A Report of the Surgeon General, 1987
2. Jack Henningfield, Ph.D. John Hopkins Medical School, Baltimore, MD, 1991

Smoking and Academic Achievement

High school seniors indicating that they plan to go to college are much less likely to smoke than those not aiming for college. ¹

Number of Seniors Who Smoke a Pack a Day or More by Academic Grade ²
A A- B+ B B- C+ C C- D
2% 3% 4% 5% 8% 9% 10% 14% 23%

Tobacco and Attention Span ³

  • Normal for Adults: 8 to 14 minutes
  • Normal for Children: 6 to 10 minutes
  • Normal for Tobacco Users: 8 to 14 minutes
  • Normal for Deprived Tobacco Users: under 4 minutes

1. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Preventing Tobacco use Among Young People. A Report of the Surgeon General, 1994
2. National High School Senior Survey on Drug Abuse, Class of 1985
3. Surgeons General's Report: The Health Consequences of Smoking: Nicotine Addiction, 1987

Nicotine's Addictive Power Compared to Other Drugs

  • Crack Cocaine - 100% (most addictive)
  • Nicotine - 99%
  • Heroine - 60%

Note This

  • One out of ten who experiment with alcohol becomes addicted.
  • Nine out of ten who experiment with tobacco become addicted.
  • Only one in ten who try to quit using tobacco each year succeeds!

Surgeon General's Report: Nicotine Addiction - Full Report, page 262, NIDA. USHDHHS, 1987

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