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-Approximately 80% of adult smokers started smoking before the age of 18. Every day, nearly 3,000 young people under the age of 18 become regular smokers.
More than 5 million children living today will die prematurely because of a decision they will make as adolescents---the decision to smoke cigarettes.
-Each year, students spend $5.5 billion on alcohol, more than they spend on soft drinks, tea, milk, juice, coffee or books combined.
-Number of minutes per week that parents spend in meaningful conversation with their children: 38.5
-Homicide is the second leading cause of death for persons 15-24 years of age and is the leading cause of death for African-American and Hispanic youths in this age-group
-In the U.S., 1 in 4 sexually active teens become infected with an STD every year.2 Some common STDs are chlamydia, gonorrhea, genital warts
-Teen childbearing alone costs U.S. taxpayers nearly $7 billion annually for social services and lost tax revenues.
-Nationally, nearly one million young women under age 20 become pregnant each year. That means close to 2800 teens get pregnant each day.