In the past, teens smoking cigarettes have been considered to be those youngsters who are engaging in a rite of passage. After all, they are barely kids anymore and young adulthood looms large. Smoking teens have been said to be those who simply cannot wait to turn 18 or 21, and are doing all they can now to give off the image of the grown up they will be one day. Of course, today we know that there are dangers for teenagers smoking cigarettes, and teen smokers themselves know that they are impacting their health for years to come. Yet when it comes to teens and smoking, it is important to factor in that feeling of invincibility that is natural to all teens and young adults. Death, illness, and decreased bodily functionality are all things that happen to other people, and this even when presented with the most graphic of facts, a smoking teen is unlikely to curb the habit because of this imagery.

Teen smoking facts have shown that across the board teen smoking begins well before the 18th birthday, which is the legal age at which one may purchase cigarettes from a store. In the past it was the older looking teen smoker who would buy the packs of smokes for her or his friends; later on it was the store clerk who did not really care much about who bought the smokes as long as they were paid for; today it is the Internet that once again makes it possible for teen smoking to continue.

Since the reasons why smoking hurts teens is well known to all, it is still somewhat surprising to see so much teen smoking. The psychological factors of teenagers and smoking have long since been written about, and everyone now knows about peer pressure, the fear of not fitting into the clique, the association of acceptance with smoking, the need to have something to do with one’s hands, and the myths that swirl about the smoke, such as its weight loss inducing powers. Yet did you know that teen smoking is also furthered by the tobacco industry? Sure, advertising teen smoking is taboo and pictures of teens smoking are not ever shown by a manufacturer.

A close perusal of the ads however shows that many smokers in them look awfully young. Additionally, teenagers smoking cigarettes are attracted to new flavored cigarettes that the manufacturers have brought on the market. Suddenly, smoking doesn’t seem to be that bad habit mom and dad talked about! Furthermore, a visit to a teen smoking cessation program will show you that it is so much harder for these soon to be adults to kick the habit than it is for adults themselves. Last but not least, a myth that has been circulated by well meaning smoking cessation advocates that stipulated that teens smoking marijuana always started out with tobacco has backfired to the extent that it has raised doubt about some other claims the adults made.