CIGARETTES are freely available to underage smokers in shops in
the US, even though it is illegal to sell them to anyone under
the age of 18, a report from the Centers for Disease Control in
Atlanta suggests. The study also found that the number of young
smokers continues to increase. The percentage of high-school
students who smoke rose from 27.5 per cent in 1991 to 34.8 per
cent in 1995. The report, issued last week, is of special
interest because of recent campaigns in the US to protect
children from cigarette advertising. Although cigarette
companies deny targeting young smokers, 90 per cent of adult
smokers say they took up the practice when they were aged 18
years or younger. Most of the young smokers who took part in the
study said they found it easy to obtain cigarettes. More than a
third bought them from shops, where their ages ... To continue
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