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Medical Author:

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.

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Medical Editor:

Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Dr. Charles "Pat" Davis, MD, PhD, is a board certified Emergency Medicine doctor who currently practices as a consultant and staff member for hospitals. He has a PhD in Microbiology (UT at Austin), and the MD (Univ. Texas Medical Branch, Galveston). He is a Clinical Professor (retired) in the Division of Emergency Medicine, UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, and has been the Chief of Emergency Medicine at UT Medical Branch and at UTHSCSA with over 250 publications.

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Next Steps

Prevention

Prevention can be easy; simply do not start to smoke cigarettes…ever. Unfortunately, quitting is often very difficult. Most smokers begin to smoke as teenagers. Every day, about 3,000 American youths start smoking and nicotine in smoke is addicting for many people. Efforts at the federal, state, and local levels to enact and enforce laws barring sales (of cigarettes) to minors need to be encouraged and enforced to minimize this addictive and potentially destructive habit.

Parents still have the biggest impact on their children's decision whether to smoke. The best way to prevent a youngster from taking up smoking likely is to have parents who don't smoke. Children from smoking households are more likely to begin smoking than children from nonsmoking households.

• Much attention has been focused in recent years on the influence of tobacco company advertising on encouraging young people to smoke.

• Although cigarette commercials have been banned from television for over 30 years, tobacco products remain among the most heavily marketed products. According to the American Lung Association, the tobacco industry spent an estimated $12.49 billion on advertising in 2006. Some states place restrictions on the type and locations of tobacco advertising, and legislation enacted in 2009 gave the U.S. FDA strong authority to regulate tobacco products, which is likely to have a significant impact on tobacco advertising and marketing.

• Studies have shown that youth are particularly susceptible to tobacco marketing campaigns.

• In the past, cigarette use by actors in popular films was a means to portray smoking as sophisticated and glamorous.

• Although denied by tobacco companies, the use of cartoon animals and the like in advertising campaigns appeals to youngsters.

• Counter-advertising by various antismoking advocacy groups may provide some balance, but their advertising budgets pale beside those of tobacco companies.

• Schools generally provide education on the use of tobacco, alcohol, and other substances, but their impact is unclear.

• Increasing the taxes on cigarettes, and hence their price, has been shown to reduce tobacco consumption, especially among adolescents.