Les adolescents et le tabac

Smoking in adolescents is a major public health concern in France. As the harmful effects of tobacco are related to the number of years of consumption, it appears as necessary to adopt early prevention measures. This article presents the updated epidemiological data about smoking and teenagers, and what makes smoking in adolescents particular as opposed to smoking in adults. As a matter of fact, smoking generally starts during adolescence and the reasons why teenagers experiment smoking cannot be compared to the reasons of addicted adults. This specificity is illustrated by different smoking habits and motivations but also by different motivations vis-a-vis the withdrawal. Most of the teenagers who use to smoke want to stop smoking but, for most of them, they are already strongly addicted and cannot stop without any help. The kind of aid to bring to adolescents depends on a global and consistent policy that embraces health education and prevention but also care through withdrawal aid.