Smoking Among
Teenagers
The problem
Now the smoking by teenagers is one of the most important problems of the society. According to the statistics tobacco using spreads very quickly. Every sixth boy and tenth girl under 18 smoke cigarettes.
People who start smoking as young teens are more likely to:
•Get addicted to nicotine (the young people are more sensitive to it).
•Become lifetime smokers.
•Get diseases caused by tobacco use.
•Die from a disease caused by
Who is at risk?
Some teenagers are at a higher risk for tobacco use. For example, young people are more likely to use tobacco if they:
•Have access to smoking areas and tobacco products— especially low-cost or free tobacco.
•Have friends, brothers or sisters who use tobacco.
•Watch movies where actors smoke.
•Are not doing well in school or have friends who are not doing well in school.
•Are not engaged in school or religious activities.
•Use other substances, such as alcohol or marijuana.
Why are young people the industry
targets?
Young people are prime customers for tobacco products. With declining of smoking among adults, tobacco makers need to replace long-term users who have quit . . . or died. So the tobacco industry recruits replacement smokers from teenagers— the age groups in which 99% of tobacco users begin smoke.
Smoking and Health: They Just
Don’t Mix
It’s well known that smoking is bad for health and causes many serious diseases later in life. In fact, one of three teenagers who continue to smoke regularly will die from smoking cigarettes. Tobacco using can develop smoking-related health problems, such as:
•Early cardiovascular disease.
•Smaller lungs that don’t function normally.
•Slow growth
•Memory impairment
•Reduced work
•Wheezing that can lead to a diagnosis of asthma.
•DNA damage that can cause cancer almost anywhere in the body.
Lifelong smokers get sicker and they
Myth: Smoking helps you lose weight. Many young people, especially girls and young women, believe that smoking can help them lose weight. But studies show that’s not true—young people who smoke are not thinner than those who don’t.
No smoking!
Working together, we can end the tobacco epidemic.
But it’s going to take all of us— parents, teachers, health care providers, communities, schools, and lawmakers—supporting policies, programs, and media campaigns that prevent tobacco use by youth and young adults.
Many countries have programs to prevent tobacco use by young people. The most effective ones are ban smoking in public places— such as workplaces, schools, day care centers, hospitals, restaurants, hotels and parks, restriction tobacco marketing, work with young people in school, in health care settings, and in public
In happy families there are no such problems, because members of family understand harm of smoking and set a good example by not using tobacco.
Live interesting life and make your spirit better!