Nicotine teens
From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I'm Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat. Black teens may be at greater risk for nicotine addiction than their white peers. A study supported by the National Institutes of Health shows that black teens take in 30 percent more nicotine per cigarette than white teens who smoke. The drug also remains in their bodies longer, possibly increasing early addiction to tobacco products. The study in the journal Ethnicity and Disease included 61 white and 30 black teen smokers, and was led by Dr. Eric Moolchan of the National Institute on Drug Abuse: "African American teenagers smoked an average of 15 and Caucasians an average of 20 cigarettes per day. But the surprise was that African American teens were just as addicted." (nine seconds) Moolchan’s advice? "For all teens, the body is more vulnerable to nicotine than for adults. So if you haven’t started smoking, don’t start." (six seconds) Learn more at www.hhs.gov. HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I'm Ira Dreyfuss. Last revised: August, 15 2006 | 
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