The use of smokeless-tobacco products reached an 11-year high among 12th-graders nationwide in 2009, according to the annual Monitoring the Future study released yesterday. The study by University of Michigan researchers found that 8.4 percent of 12th-graders used the products within a 30-day period — the highest level since 8.8 percent in 1998. The rate had been as low as 6.1 percent in 2006 and was 6.5 percent in 2008. The rate of use am ... Jump to full article >>

Cigarette packets with serious health warnings could actually encourage people to continue smoking, research suggests. According to a study, smokers who are continunally confronted with warnings that cigarettes kill actually develop coping mechanisms to justify continuing their habit. Comparatively, if smokers are shown warnings suggesting the habit could make them unattractive, they are more likely to give up. Teenagers who took up the habit t ... Jump to full article >>

In a smoke-filled room in Lahore, Pakistan, a small group of teenagers pass a `shisha’ (water pipe) round a table. Strawberry essence has been added to the tobacco, making a fruity aroma. “We come to this café at least once a week to share a `shisha’,” said Zeeshan Ahmed, aged 16. “Our parents don’t mind us smoking `shisha’ and it is not dangerous,” said Fyza Imad, also 16. Shisha smoking has become fashionable over the last dec ... Jump to full article >>