-In 1996, 6,548 young people 15-24 years old were victims of homicide. This amounts to an average of 18 youth homicide victims per day in the U.S. ( National Summary of Injury Mortality Data, 1988-1996. Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, November, 1998 (Unpublished)).
Statistics on Teen Smoking
-Approximately 80% of adult smokers started smoking before the age of 18. Every day, nearly 3,000 young people under the age of 18 become regular smokers.
More than 5 million children living today will die prematurely because of a decision they will make as adolescents---the decision to smoke cigarettes. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
-An estimated 2.1 million people began smoking on a daily basis in 1997. More than half of these new daily smokers were younger than age 18. This translates to more than 3,000 new youth smokers per day. The rate of youth initiation of daily smoking increased somewhat from 55.5 to 74.9 per 1,000 potential new users between 1991 and 1996, but remained level in 1997(the 1998 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse)
-Nearly all first use of tobacco occurs before high school graduation.
-Most young people who smoke are addicted to nicotine and report that they want to quit but are unable to do so.
-Tobacco is often the first drug used by young people who use alcohol and illegal drugs.
-Among young people, those with poorer grades and lower self-images are most likely to begin using tobacco.
-Over the past decade, there has been virtually no decline in smoking rates among all teens. Among black adolescents, however, the prevalence of smoking has declined dramatically.
-Young people who come from a low-income family and have fewer than two adults living in their household are especially at risk for becoming smokers.
(Preventing Tobacco Use Among Young People, U.S. Surgeon General Report, 1994)