A question from Yahoo! Answers:
What is the connection between underage smoking and poverty? The smoking rate is higher, but why?
I am researching this topic for a class I am taking, and I am interested in knowing why kids living at or below the poverty level are more at risk for becoming smokers than others.
Simply because tobacco is more readily available in low-income neighborhoods. For more information, see:
Scott P. Novak, Sean F. Reardon, Stephen W. Raudenbush, and Stephen L. Buka, “Retail Tobacco Outlet Density and Youth Cigarette Smoking: A Propensity-Modeling Approach,” American Journal of Public Health, April 2006, Vol 96, No. 4, 670-676.