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Tobacco Teenagers who pick up a cigarette for the first time may think of it as a harmless experiment. They are young and healthy, and they are unlikely to think that they are on a path to become lifelong smokers. And yet they are wrong. One-third to one-half of teenagers who try even a few cigarettes will become a regular smoker. It's easy to think of smoking as an adult problem. That's who dies from …

…to the world of nicotine addiction. The FDA is currently deliberating on whether it can exert jurisdiction over nicotine as a drug, and thus could more sharply regulate access to tobacco products. Many people think that our society needs to make it harder for teens to buy cigarettes, and to deliver the message that nicotine is addictive and a serious health hazard. Children are entitled to a lifetime of choices, not a lifetime of addiction.