SMOKING STATISTICS

Smoking Age Statistics

The current smoking age in the United States of America varies; some states have set the smoking age at eighteen and other states have set the smoking age at nineteen.

Everyone knows that smoking is bad for you and can cause lung cancer, emphysema, birth defects, and other health issues but that still does not dissuade people from smoking cigarettes.

Forty years ago many adults smoked cigarettes; even celebrities and people that were on television. Smoking cigarettes was very acceptable behavior forty years ago but sadly people still smoke cigarettes even though they know eventually the habit will put their lives at risk. There were not strict smoking laws forty years ago; now you have to show photo identification proving that you are a legal adult before you can purchase cigarettes. Many older people who currently have lung cancer and smoking related ailments started smoking when they were as young as ten or eleven years old.

In 2009, many teenagers have decided to smoke cigarettes because of peer pressure; they want to try cigarettes because they know it is wrong and they want to be rebellious. These teenagers then turn into adults who are addicted to nicotine.

Stress is the main reason why adults smoke cigarettes; as we get older we have more and more responsibilities. This makes people want something to take the edge off so many people turn to cigarettes because they contain nicotine. Nicotine makes people feel great and that is why people become hooked on it; everyone yearns to feel please and be happy. Nicotine addiction is a hard addiction to overcome; many people try to quit smoking but are not successful.

In order to reduce the number of smoking related deaths, the smoking age needs to be evaluated; increasing the smoking age from eighteen to twenty one could be very beneficial. Nicotine is more addictive than alcohol and legislators need to take that into account. If you start addictive behaviors when you are younger then chances are you will not be able to break the dependence after you reach adulthood.