What constitutes a smoker and why should we care?  

Category: Practice Management

According to the Office on Smoking and Health (OSH), a current smoker is defined as any person(s) who reported smoking at least 100 cigarettes in their life and who currently smokes every day or on some days.

Consider this: Almost all smokers start while they're young. In most instances, the first use of tobacco takes place before high school graduation. A survey conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) performed in 2009, found that nearly half of high school students had tried cigarette smoking at some point and more than 1 out of 4 high school students were current tobacco users. It has been shown that the younger you are when you begin smoking, the more likely you are to continue to be a smoker through adulthood; almost 90% of adults who are regular smokers started at or before age 19. Each and every day more than 4,000 kids under the age of 18 t...