Adverse Childhood Experiences and Smoking During Adolescence and Adulthood

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Abstract
The dramatic rate of decline in the prevalence of cigarette smoking among US adults that took place over the past 30 years has slowed and nearly come to a halt.1,2 Furthermore, past declines in smoking among US adolescents have actually reversed during the 1990s,1,3 and about two thirds of US adults who have ever smoked regularly have tried smoking by the age of 18 years.4 These recent disturbing trends in smoking have occurred amidst efforts to reduce access to cigarettes and counter the effects of tobacco marketing, parent and sibling smoking, and peer pressure to smoke.4-9 Some of this reversal may also be due to exorbitant advertising and promotion expenditures,10 especially for brands that appeal to youth,11 and increasing exposure to tobacco in the media.12 However, we have an incomplete understanding of the reasons for this reversal. Further insight into the basic underlying factors that lead to smoking during adolescence and adulthood, be they depression,13-16 anxiety,17 or social and developmental18 impairments, are needed.