Cigarettes Feature - Draft 1

In the US, cigarette smoking causes one in five deaths per year. About 60 of the chemicals in cigarettes are known to cause cancer. In the year 2000 alone, 1.7 million smokers died due to heart disease – the leading cause of death in this country.
We've all heard about the dangers that cigarette smoking imposes on our health. These facts are becoming more prevalent every day thanks to the efforts of anti-smoking campaigns like the TRUTH ads. The health risks and negative aspects of smoking are so publicized that it would be impossible for anyone who isn't living under a rock not to realize that smoking cigarettes is bad for you.
However, Americans still spend over $80 billion per year on cigarettes. And these smokers aren't just uneducated people from the lower class. Recent studies reveal that about 20 percent of college students smoke cigarettes on a regular basis. So why are millions of intelligent, well-educated young adults choosing to indulge in such a risky habit?
"It's a form of social bonding," says Wittenberg senior Lynsey Smith, a former smoker who recently quit her cigarette habit. "Smoking was a good way to meet people who I might not have otherwise spoken to if we hadn't spent a few minutes each day smoking outside the dorms and classroom buildings."
Ed Aldrich, a junior, agrees that smoking cigarettes was a good way to break the ice with strangers. "I've met people by asking to borrow a lighter, even though I had one in my pocket."
It's not that students are ignorant of the hazards of smoking – in fact, most of them are fully aware of the health risks and intend to quit the habit in their post-college years. In a survey conducted in 2004, 56 percent of college students who indulged in occasional "social" cigarette smoking identified themselves as non-smokers.
The social context of smoking, especially amongst American college students, is an entire culture of its own. For some, a cigarette is just one of the more enjoyable ways to pass the ten minutes in between classes, or to spark a conversation with a fellow smoker.