The facts sections of those anti-tobacco sites introduce what is tobacco, such as the chemical ingredients of tobacco, the basics about smokers (youth), and what kinds of diseases tobacco can cause.

The basics:

• The average age of first tobacco use is now 11-15 (CDC. 1994)
• Among smokers aged 12-17 years, 70% already regret their decision to smoke and 66% say they want to quit (The George Gallup Int'l Institute, 1992)
• Everyday, 3,000 young people become regular smokers (Pierce, J. JAMA. 1989)
• More than 3 million American adolescents currently smoke and more than 1 million adolescents use spit tobacco (CDC 1994)

Did you know that:

• Every 13 seconds, someone dies from tobacco use.
• Second hand smoke kills some 50,000 Americans each year, making it the third leading cause of death.(AHA & ACS)
• 33% of young people who become regular smokers will die of a smoking related death (CDC, Prevention Works)
• Lung cancer has surpassed breast cancer as the leading killer among women. (ACS & AHA)
• Cigar smoking causes cancer of the throat, mouth and lungs.

Cigarette smoke contains over 3,000 chemicals including:

• Acetone (nail polish remover)
• Hydrogen cyanide (rat poison)<
• Nicotine (cockroach killer)
• Hydrazine (rocket fuel)
• Formaldehyde (embalming fluid)

Wait- there's still more!

• Smoking causes more death every year than fires, auto crashes, AIDS, alcohol, cocaine, heroin, murders and suicides combined.
• Younger or less confident children may be less likely to attempt to purchase tobacco if they must request it from a clerk. (Institute of Medicine, 1994)
• Spit and chewing tobacco, light cigarettes, cigars and pipe tobacco are NOT safe alternatives to regular cigarettes.
• Women appear to be more susceptible to the addictive properties of nicotine and have a slower metabolic clearance of nicotine from their bodies. (NHI Survey 91-92)
• On average, someone who smokes a pack or more a day of cigarettes lives 6.6 years less than someone who never smokes regularly. (CDC, Prevention Works)