It makes you wonder that, having all these facts and figures, people still begin smoking and then ontinue to do so. In fact, more cigarettes are sold and smoked today than ever before. Why? Why, despite medical science proving over and over again that smoking is dangerous to our health, do people - especially young people - start smoking in the first placfe, and why can't people who smoke quit, even when they want to? One reason people begin smoking is that for years smoking was shown as glamorous, sophisticated, and part of being adult. In magazine ads, in movies and books, and later on television, cigarette smoking was portrayed as part of a romantic world, the people who smoked appeared to be people worth imitating. If your favorite movie star or singer smokes, you, too, may want to smoke in order to feel more like him or her. If you are young, you may want to smoke in order to feel and appear to be more grown-up. And if all your friends are smoking, you may give in to peer pressure; you may begin to smoke in order to feel a part of the crowd. You may begin even though you konw it's bad for you. And once you begin, it's hard to stop because tobacco has a secret ingredient that keeps you coming back for more. That ingredient is nicotine.