Healthy children are important to the LMB and an indication of the overall health of a community. The overwhelming majority of adult cigarette smokers initiated and established the habit during adolescence. Although youth may not recognize the short-term impact of cigarette use, damage to the respiratory and cardiovascular systems is almost immediate, and many of the long-term diseases - such as lung cancer - are more prevalent among adults who began smoking in their adolescence.Youth who begin drinking in early adolescence are four times more likely to develop alcohol dependence than those who abstain until adulthood. Alcohol use among youth is associated with a variety of health and social problems, including injuries, accidental deaths, suicide, antisocial behavior, and violence.Further, the use of illegal drugs among youth has been associated with antisocial behavior, academic problems, violence, and unintentional injuries.