Why are teens smoking and vaping?

Everyone agrees how important it is that youths should not be smoking or vaping. 

Even tobacco companies have said so publicly for decades, although internal tobacco company documents clearly show that they:

- targeted teenagers with flavors,[1] 

- referred to 14-to-18-year-olds as “young adult smokers,” studied teen smoking patterns (differentiating between “presmokers”, “learners” and “confirmed smokers”), admitted that “the base of our business is the high school student,”[2] 

- recognized that “the renewal of the market stems almost entirely from 18-year-old smokers”[3] and that “today’s teenager is tomorrow’s potential regular customer,”[4] and 

- concluded that “the ability to attract new smokers and develop them into a young adult franchise is key to brand development.”[5] 

In order to survive and prosper over the long term, tobacco companies have seen the need to capture the youth market, developing new products and brands that appeal to youths, because “younger adult smokers are the only source of replacement smokers... If younger adults turn away from smoking, the industry must decline, just as a population which does not give birth will eventually dwindle."[6] 

References:

(1) Marketing Innovations. (1972). Youth cigarette - New concepts [memo to Brown & Williamson]. Bates No. 170042014 

(2) Achey TL. (1978). Memo from Lorillard sales manager Achey to CEO Curtis Judge about the "fantastic success" of Newport, August 30, 1978. Bates No. TINY0003062 

(3) R.J. Reynolds. (1984). Young adult smokers: Strategies and opportunities [report]. Bates No. 501928462-8550 

(4) Johnston ME. (1981). Young smokers prevalence, trends, implications, and related demographic trends [Philip Morris market research report, 31 March 1981]. Bates No. 1000390803 

(5) Philip Morris International. (1999). Worldwide Marlboro monitor: Five year trends, 1988-1992. Bates No. 2044895379- 484 

(6) R.J. Reynolds. (1984). Young adult smokers: Strategies and opportunities [report]. Bates No. 501928462-8550

Indeed, if tobacco is such a good product, why don't tobacco executives use it themselves?

Nassim Taleb: "Never buy a product that the owner of the company that makes it doesn't use, or, in the case of, say, medication, wouldn't contingently use." 

(from: http://www.businessinsider.com/nassim-talebs-musings-on-facebook-2013-7#ixzz2ZFlix7xX)

Got to agree with the eccentric author of "The Black Swan" on this one.  Indeed, why don't tobacco executives use their products, and why don't they want their children to use them? Here's the response of tobacco executives from R.J. Reynolds when asked by Dave Goerlitz, then a Winston cigarette ad model, about why none of them smoked:

"We don't smoke that sh*t. We just sell it. We reserve the right to smoke for the young, the poor, the black and the stupid." - as quoted in The Times of London, 02 August 1992.