I can't answer or speak for the entire teenage population but I started smoking cigarettes at a REALLY young age because during that time I hung out with people much older than me that were smokers. Me being young, naive and desperate for acceptance from an older crowd, I accepted my first cigarette and it quickly turned into a nasty bad habit that increased throughout the years. I started smoking around 13-14 years old...I'll be turning 24 tomorrow so more than a decade! With over a decade of smoking, it's difficult for myself to quit or attempt to. I've tried patches and other remedies in the past to no success! Sadly, I still smoke.

Overall, I started smoking from "hanging out" with the wrong crowd and I wouldn't suggest smoking to anyone....smokers or non smokers! It's a terrible and disgusting addiction that's suffering, harmful to your body, and will get worse.

Most people I know who started smoking, did it because "It was cool" or because their "friends did it".

In general, peer pressure.

I got pretty lucky, that my friends weren't mostly smokers, and the few that do smoke respect my decision to not smoke.

I would have to say peer pressure like everybody else, and they think it cool or something.

In some cases it could also be due to an influence from their parents. Well think about it, you grow up from a baby 'till a teen and the entire time your parents smoke and drink. So you might want to try it.

This was actually my scenario, which got me hooked on that stuff in my past.

i mabey 10 but many people in my family started smoking around 13-14 (there are 7 of us)it took alot of work but one of my 2 sisters got over it 2 of my brothers smoke also and so does my other sister

I honestly don't know, but i know why i did, its because i grew up around all kind of smokers cigarettes, blacks, weed, anything you name it. I basically grew in to it.

They think it's cool.  Peer Pressure and just plain out stupidity.  I will make one statement to you all.  1 out of every 3 teen smokers will die a terrible death.  It is sad when you have to go to a funeral and you can't few the body because nothing was left of it.  

Ant1 23ant:Well it could be because they are bored and have nothing to do or that they tasted it and got addicted it could also be if they have a sad life and just want to kill themselves by doing drugs.

I'm not sure why so many smoke tobacco, but around here a lot of us are pretty depressed for some reason so they try smoking weed.
I'm almost certain that a majority of kids in my grade just drink and smoke to get away from whatever's going on in their life
That's the most logical reason I can think of at the moment

They do it just to fit in with everyone else that does it. It's pretty sad that teenagers do this kind of thing, it's bad for their health. I never smoked or did drugs just to fit in.

Interestingly enough, the kids here don't tend to smoke. They usually use weed, or they drink and party.  Is this something that is sweeping the nation, or is it just the place I live? In other words, are kids everywhere starting to get into pot as opposed to cigarettes?  Is smoking normal cigs a popular thing anywhere?

Most teenagers smoke because its the cool thing to do. The only reason my cousins smoke is to calm their selves down most of the time. The only way im going to start smoking is probably if my parents die.

Singelli : It's not just your area, pretty much any area is having a trend to do all these bad habits like drink at a young age.   I do see a lot of people smoking cigarettes and to be honest its just a waste of money.  How much is it for a pack of smokes now a days? And if you're addicted chances are you might smoke a pack a day or at least a few a week; yikes that's a lot of money in a year.  Its still the same culprit being blamed; you know the everyone else is doing it routine.   Parents should be held somewhat responsible for it, if they do smoke that is.  It could be a friends choice that brings the kid over to the dark lung side who knows.   As far as weed I think with the cultural push to legalize it has gotten more youth interested in trying the new thing out, which according to one of my friends who was a previous pot head is a waste of time.   I just see no interest in it and it just smells pretty nasty to say the least.   And Alcohol well its always going to be the drug of choice for many kids experimenting since almost every house hold seems to have a bottle lying around somewhere.   

Well I wasn't so much curious about the alcohol as I was about the weed.  I do see whereas the media could be increasing the number of youth that try something more serious than cigarettes.

I suppose also that it might just be my location.  I'd be surprised if none of my students hadn't had crack at some point either.  Luckily, I'm in a magnet school, so chances of that might be rare.  The zoned schools though probably have very strong drug usage.