Pharmacological options for smoking cessation in youths

It is estimated that each year around 207,000 children in the UK start smoking.¹ Among adult smokers, about two-thirds report that they took up smoking before the age of 18 and over 80 per cent before the age of 20.² The latest survey of adult smokers shows that almost two-fifths had started smoking regularly before the age of 16.³

Children who experiment with cigarettes can quickly become addicted to the nicotine in tobacco; they may show signs of addiction within four weeks of starting to smoke and before they commence daily smoking. In a 2012 survey of schoolchildren in England, 46 per cent of those who had smoked for less than a year say they would find it difficult to stop for one week, compared to 82 per cent for those who have smoked more than a year. During periods of abstinence, young people experience withdrawal symptoms similar to those experienced by adult smokers.⁴