FORT COLLINS, Colo. ÷ Tobacco companies could make a sequel to the Pocahontas story and use it as an ad campaign. John Rolfe, the husband of Pocahontas, was the first American to grow tobacco to sell in Jamestown, Va., in 1612, according to BACCHUS and GAMMA, an educational organization that focuses on healthy living.

Cigarette smoking may seem prevalent to some students at CSU, but only 36 percent of Colorado State University students smoke. Nevertheless, smoking is a serious issue, said Gwen Sieving, a health educator at Hartshorn Health Center. She said smoking is a serious issue because tobacco companies have always been focused on 18- to 25-year-olds.

Approximately 90 percent of all tobacco users begin smoking before the age of 18 and more than seven in 10 teenage smokers are still smoking five years after they start. The reason for this is smoking is a hard addiction to drop. It is as difficult to quit smoking as it is to quit using heroin, cocaine or alcohol, according to BACCHUS and GAMMA.

The tobacco companies are aware of this, and spend billions of dollars targeting this age group, Sieving said.

International sales for Philip Morris, R.J. Reynolds and American Brand tobacco companies rose from $6 billion in 1984 to $35 billion in 1994, according to BACCHUS and GAMMA.