special subjects
Smoking and Other Tobacco Use
Prevention of Tobacco Use
Preventing youth smoking is important because 90% of adults who smoke start before the age of 18, and very few adults will begin to smoke or use smokeless tobacco products after age 26 ( Prevention references ). An estimated 5.6 million youth < 18 in the United States today will die prematurely from a smoking-related illness; these deaths can be averted through concerted public health measures and regulatory actions ( The National Academies of Sciences has concluded that there is substantial evidence that e-cigarette use increases the risk of ever using combustible tobacco cigarettes among youth and young adults ( Prevention references ). Still unknown is whether this translates into sustained use of combusted cigarettes. 1.National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (US) Office on Smoking and Health. The Health Consequences of Smoking—50 Years of Progress: A Report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta (GA): Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US); 2014. 2.National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; Health and Medicine Division; Board on Population Health and Public Health Practice; Eaton DL, Kwan LY, Stratton K, et al: Public Health Consequences of E-Cigarettes. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); January 23, 2018. 