It is good news for our nation's health that adult smoking rates are declining again after stagnating during much of the 1990s, ... But it is also clear that elected officials at all levels must do more to implement the scientifically proven measures that have produced these declines.
Virtually no one starts smoking as an adult. Ninety percent of all the smokers began as teenagers or younger.
Today, teenage girls smoke in record numbers, because the tobacco companies have been successful in associating smoking with independence, freedom, rebellion, and for many girls, a key for weight loss.
A loophole that permits smoking in places that sell substantial amounts of cigarettes could potentially undermine this protection.