Take a lesson from this tobacco fact sheet. Did you know...

• That "Old Joe," the cartoon camel who used to advertise Camel cigarettes, is as familiar to children aged 3 to 6 years as Mickey Mouse? Ninety-one percent of 6-year-old children know the Camel's name and are able to link him with cigarettes.
  
  
• That you can make a decision today that will affect the rest of your life? If you stay away from tobacco during your teens, you can stay tobacco-free forever.
  
  
• That there are 4,000 chemicals in tobacco smoke? You might know a few. Tobacco smoke contains ammonia, a toilet cleaner; formaldehyde, used to preserve dead things; and arsenic, poison used to kill rats.
  
  
• That 90 percent of new smokers are children and teens?
  
  
• That if you've felt pressure to try tobacco, you're not alone? Almost all teens will at some time feel pressured to try tobacco.
  
  
• Tobacco use kills more people in America than other drugs, alcohol, murders, suicide, car accidents, and AIDS combined.
  
  
• Don't let tobacco ads fool you! In 1997 the tobacco industry spent more than $5 billion on advertising and promotion.*

All forms of tobacco are harmful.

• Tobacco contains nicotine, a drug that is addictive.
  
  
• Nicotine, a major byproduct of cigarettes, speeds up the heart rate.
  
  
• Tar from tobacco is made up of dozens of chemicals that can cause cancer.
  
  
• Tobacco smoke contains poisons.
  
  
• Lung cancer is not the only serious disease related to tobacco use. Smoking also causes bronchitis, emphysema, and heart disease.
  
  
• The babies of women who smoke when they are pregnant weigh less at birth than the babies of nonsmokers, which puts them at a higher risk for health complications.
  
  
• No matter how long a person has used tobacco, the body attempts to repair all tobacco-related damage when a person quits.
  

*1997 Federal Trade Commission Report to Congress

If you think that smoking won't have an effect on you, think again. Young people develop a tolerance for, and become dependent on, nicotine as quickly as adults, and young people have just as hard a time quitting.

Don't Buy the Lie!