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Risk Analysis of: Young Women Smoking By Louise Eccles Smoking is the number one preventable cause of death in women in the United States. Of the more than 140,000 women who die prematurely from tobacco-related illnesses each year, 80 percent began smoking while they were adolescents. Evidence demonstrates that young people who begin to use tobacco do not understand the nature of the addiction and, as a result, believe they will be able to avoid the harmful consequences of tobacco use. These adolescents do not realize the long-term effects of their actions. Smoking by Girls: Each day in the United Stated about 1,500 girls being smoking. Nearly all first use of tobacco occurs before high school graduation. Since 1991, cigarette smoking by adolescents has risen annually. The 1995 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse estimates that 20 percent of youths aged 12-17 (4.5 million adolescents) were current smokers in 1995. In 1994, the rate was 18.9 percent. Approximately 1 of 5 teenage girls now smoke. Why Do Girls Smoke? When most girls begin smoking, they are usually caught up in the moment, in the immediate experience of what appears to be a "cool," "adult," or even "glamorous" behavior. They are naive