What is the effect of smokeless tobacco product marketing and use on population harm from tobacco use?
Never starting to use tobacco is a much better strategy than having to stop. Tobacco use usually begins primarily during adolescence. Almost 25% of 12th-graders have smoked in the previous 30 days, and almost all adult daily smokers have tried cigarettes before age 18 years. Research reports suggest a flattening of the past decades downward trend in adolescent smoking. Adolescents (13 to 18 years of age) and young adults (18 to 24 years of age) are susceptible to cultural influences, including family, friends, peers, media, community, and tobacco marketing influence. Gender, racial/ethnic background, socioeconomic status, geography, and sexual orientation all influence tobacco use and the effectiveness of strategies to prevent it, which means that many preventive strategies are needed.
