Horn analyzed data involving almost 6,000 teen smokers who enrolled in the Not On Tobacco program between 1998 and 2006 -- the most widely used smoking-cessation program for teens in the nation. The Not On Tobacco teens weren’t experimental smokers, they were moderately to highly nicotine dependent.

By contrast, previous studies have classified about 80 percent of teen smokers as having low or very low levels of nicotine dependence, said Horn. "We now have strong evidence to show that teens get addicted - quickly." In other findings, the researchers determined that half of the teens used more than one tobacco product, with cigars being the most frequently used secondary tobacco product, followed by smokeless tobacco..

Almost all Not On Tobacco teens had important people in their social networks who smoke—parents, siblings, friends and boyfriends or girlfriends. “Interestingly, teens reported that parents were less likely to support quitting than were friends,” Horn said.