Despite repeated health warnings from the Surgeon General, public service announcements and many other successful educational programs about the dangers of smoking, more still needs to be done to prevent children, teenagers and young adults from smoking.

"The tobacco industry is out there working diligently everyday to seduce children and young adults to start smoking and to continue smoking," says Warner. "And it isn't sufficient for parents to just tell their children smoking is bad."

One of the best ways parents can keep their child from being an easy target of tobacco messages and advertising is to educate them about the health hazards associated with smoking. Warner suggests parents emphasize to their children the addictive nature of smoking and how the addiction will persist into adulthood if they start smoking at a young age.

The state of Michigan also is trying to get the message out to the younger generation about the health risks involved with smoking. But Warner says that the state's efforts aren't enough.

"Michigan devotes approximately $8 million to tobacco control efforts," he says. "But according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a state of our size should be spending a minimum of $54 million for a comprehensive package of tobacco control programs, including efforts to prevent kids from smoking, as well as efforts to help smokers quit."

And most smokers need the extra push to help them kick the habit, including Therese, who started smoking when she was 16. Now, in her early 20s, Therese has found that nicotine is a hard addiction to beat.

"I really want to quit because I have asthma and I'm a singer," she says. "I know why it's bad for me, but I still smoke because I'm just not ready to quit."

Another young adult, Julie, also has discovered how hard it is to quit smoking after several attempts to do so. "I'd like to quit, but as soon as you say you're going to quit, it consumes every single one of your thoughts and it's impossible," she says.

To prevent teens and young adults from the distress and difficulty involved with kicking the habit, more work needs to be done to discourage them from smoking before they start, says Peter Jacobson, J.D., M.P.H., associate professor, U-M School of Public Health.

"What we need to do is develop a comprehensive program that focuses on discouraging kids from smoking and also brings in adults to show them if they quit smoking, it will help keep their entire family from smoking," he says.

Jacobson further outlines a prevention plan that would include raising cigarette prices and enforcing stricter smoking laws at state and local levels, which includes creating laws that will revoke a vendor's license if he or she sells cigarettes to minors.

Facts about youth smoking: