5. a) Why do youths start smoking? Can you find examples in the Video?

Most kids who start smoking know that it's "bad", but don't have enough self esteem, indi-viduality, social skills and tobacco awareness to reject the immediate social pressures to smoke. (The social pressures on youths to start smoking are largely overt and covert peer pressures which are fed by image creating tobacco ads, videos and movies of "ideal" people smoking). They may think "most kids smoke" (false belief) or "I'll fit in better with my friends" (peer pressure) or "I'll look more mature or cool" (social image). Most kids who start smoking know that it's "bad", but haven't actually witnessed or don't fully understand or believe the very powerful and common addiction to nicotine which occurs soon after starting ("Oh, I can quit anytime I want") or the very common and devastating health con-sequences that occur both in youths and adults. (see Table on pg 56) (see slide g)

In the Video, Laurena Diaz (a teenage smoker) stated, "I started when I was in Middle School actually, in 7th grade, because my friends were doing it" (see Video Script, pg 38).

Eddie Hornsby stated, "I'm 21. I started when I was about 15 years old. I was in high school. It was about 10th grade. I thought it was cool, all the cool kids smoked". (see Video Script pg 40).

Although statistics on the incidence of teen smoking continuously vary depending on the levels of school, media, community and government preventive efforts versus tobacco company recruiting efforts, United States Public Health Service statistics have shown that 90% of smokers start before the age of twenty. Each day, nearly 6,000 adolescents (under 18) smoke their first cigarette and of these, almost 3,000 become daily smokers. Approxi-mately 1/3 of these adolescent smokers will eventually die of smoking related illnesses. Furthermore, most adolescents who become established smokers report that they would like to quit but are unable to do so.

b) What can be done to prevent youths from starting to smoke?

Almost 90% of smokers start before graduation from high school and the risk for starting rises rapidly during middle school. Therefore, each of the reasons listed in 5a. above as to why youths start to smoke must be addressed repeatedly, consistently and effectively starting in elementary school. Parents, schools, the media, communities and government must all play a very important and complimentary role.

Parents, older siblings, school teachers, youth activists and community youth leaders can all help children and adolescents to raise their self esteem, sense of individuality, social skills to reject tobacco and awareness of the short and long term consequences of tobacco use. The media can present creative teen generated ads that smoking is not cool and thereby alter social norms (i.e., generate peer pressure against the use of tobacco). Gov-ernment can raise the price of tobacco products by raising taxes on them, pass and enforce stricter laws on tobacco advertising and promotions, smoking in public places and sale of tobacco to minors and can also fund anti-smoking media, community and school educa-tional, motivational and social skills programs.