Reasons for tobacco use and symptoms of nicotine withdrawal among adolescent and young adult tobacco users--United States, 1993.

Cigarettes and other forms of tobacco are addictive because of the presence of nicotine(1). Among adults in the United States who have ever smoked daily, 91.3% tried their first cigarette and 77.0% became daily smokers before age 20 years (2). Among high school seniors who had ever tried smokeless tobacco (SLT), 73% did so by the ninth grade (2). To further characterize the development of nicotine addiction among persons aged 10-22 years, CDC analyzed data from the 1993 Teenage Attitudes and Practices Survey (TAPS-II). This report summarizes the results of that analysis and focuses on assessments of reasons for using tobacco and symptoms of nicotine withdrawal.