Two kinds of people smoke cigarettes: those who can’t read and those who don’t care. Fewer Americans smoke with the exception of teenage girls. A 2005 study from the Centers for Disease Control showed that 23 percent of high school girls smoked cigarettes. Smoking rates were greatest in Caucasians and Hispanics, but were declining among African-American teens. Experts cite weight lose as one of the most important reasons that adolescent girls smoke. A University of Florida study a nearly 8000 teenagers showed that girls were two times more likely to begin smoking if they went on weight-lose diet. This study also found that chronic dieters were more likely to smoke. Smoking increases the risk of heart disease, lung cancer and high blood pressure. Parents should be vigilant about other health behaviors when their children try to lose weight. (American Journal Health Promotion, 22: 25-32, 2007; FitnessRX, 20)