One in five teens smoke

One in every five US teens smokes. A ten-year survey by the anti-smoking group Ash found that the number of teen smokers in the US has been decreasing since the 1990s. But the number has stopped decreasing in the last few years.

The number of 14- to 15-year-old smokers has decreased by a third since 1999, mostly because the government banned smoking in bars and at work and added health warnings to cigarette packets. Now Ash wants the government to stop all teens smoking by making cigarettes more expensive, banning smoking in even more places and banning cigarette ads.

Most US teens think smoking is a rotten habit. Mahinaarangi Torrey, 17, comes from a family of smokers but has never smoked. She told reporters, “You don’t really have to try it to be able to see it and smell it. None of my friends smoke and they think it’s so uncool.”