Number of teenage Czech smokers up

Nearly 50 percent of Czechs aged 15 to 18 smoke, and their numbers have been steadily rising, the news agency ČTK reported on Saturday. There are around 250,000 underage smokers in the Czech Republic; nine of out ten smokers take up the habit before they turn 18. An anti-smoking activist, Eva Králíková said five years ago, more boys smoked than girls, whereas now the trend has reversed.