Information in this web page was collected based on the following sources:

1 Government data suggests that of recent year initiates, approximately 61% of smokers and 49% of smokeless tobacco users initiated use before the age of 18, with an average of initiation age of 17.1 years for cigarettes, 19 years for smokeless, and 19.9 years for cigars.

   Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2007). Results from the 2006 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: National findings (Office of Applied Studies, NSDUH Series H-32, DHHS Publication No. SMA 07-4293). Rockville, MD: US Dept. of Health and Human Services.

2 It has been shown that the younger a person begins using tobacco, the more likely it is that he or she will suffer a disease attributable to tobacco use.

   US Department of Health and Human Services. (1986). The health consequences of using smokeless tobacco - a report of the Advisory Committee to the Surgeon General. Bethesda, MD: Author.
   US Department of Health and Human Services. (1989). Reducing the health consequences of smoking: 25 years of progress - a report of the Surgeon General. Rockville, MD: Author.

3 Approximately 15% of current smokers under the age of 18 report buying cigarettes in a store or gas station.

   Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2006). Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance--United States, 2005. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 55(SS-5),1-108.

4 Based on compliance checks, incidents in which retailers have illegally sold tobacco products to minors have dropped from 40.1% in 1997 to 9.6% in 2013.

   US Department of Health and Human Services. (2014).  FFY 2013 Annual Synar Reports: Youth Tobacco Sales 

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