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Teen smoking is bad (Credible source #2)

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Teen smoking is bad (Credible source #2)

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Teens can be subjected to peer pressure which would cause them to smoke because of the nicotine.

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Did you know that each day there are more than 3,200 people, under the age of 18, who smoke their first cigarette? The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that in 2012, 7% of middle school and 23% of high school students reported current use a tobacco product. And according to the Department of Health and Human Services it is estimated that each day approximately 2,100 youth and young adults who are occasional smokers become daily smokers.

Most adult smokers today state that they started smoking by age 18. In 2010, close to 70% of adult smokers reported that they would like to quit. Research has shown that people who start smoking during adolescence may have the hardest time quitting. It is not surprising to hear that many people attempt to quit smoking several times before they are successful. Remember that addiction to nicotine is a chronic, relapsing medical condition and should be treated as such.

Harmful Effects of Teen Smoking

Tobacco use in teenagers and young adults can cause both immediate and long-term harm. Though some parents may emphasize the long-term impact of smoking on their teen's health - as they should - teenagers and young adults may be more persuaded by the immediate and early negative effects. These include:

Reduced physical fitness. Smoking reduces lung function and lung growth. It also causes shortness of breath, coughing, wheezing and increased phlegm

Early heart disease. Smoking can damage the heart and blood vessels which can increase the risk for atherosclerosis and heart disease

Poor oral health. Smokers may suffer from yellow teeth, bad breath and other mouth problems

Poor skin. Smoking is associated with skin wrinkling and early skin damage

Adolescent tobacco use is concerning because adolescents are still growing and their brains are still developing. Signals in the brain move more slowly than in a mature brain. The decision-making part of the teenage brain that is responsible for impulse control and planning is not fully developed, so teens may make more impulsive decisions - such as starting to smoke tobacco - compared to adults.

In addition, a recent research study suggested that teenagers may be more vulnerable to nicotine addiction than adults. This study showed that adolescent rats were more prone to developing addiction than adult rats, and this increased susceptibility may be linked to differences in activity between the adolescent brain and the adult brain.

The harmful effects of nicotine in teenagers and young adults create an important call to action for parents. Speak with your children today about the hazards of smoking, the addictive grip of nicotine, and the difficulty in quitting.

Discussing Smoking with Teens

It is important to point out to your teen the potential harm associated with tobacco use. Though the long-term negative health outcomes of smoking are most important to discuss, many adolescents may be more concerned with the impact that smoking has on their lives today than they are with their health in the far future. Emphasizing the immediate negative impacts of smoking to your teen may help get their attention.

Remind your kids that:

Smoking around friends or siblings can also be damaging to them, as secondhand smoke is a known harmful toxin

Teens who smoke may be sick more often than their non-smoking peers and may develop lung problems or have more asthma attacks. This can harm their athletic performance

Smoking may lead to the use of alcohol and other drugs

Smoking has a negative effect on their personal appearance (i.e., bad breath, yellow teeth, poor skin)

Also remind your kids about these damaging long-term impacts on their health:

Tobacco use is the single most preventable cause of death in the United States and in the world

Smoking is a well-known cause of heart disease, cancers, and stroke

Smoking decreases life expectancy

Nicotine has adverse effects on brain development which could have lasting effects on memory and attention

Social Smoking Trends: Hookahs and e-Cigarettes

According to the CDC, from 2011 to 2012, there was a significant increase in hookah use in high school students. Hookahs are water pipes used to smoke specially made flavored tobacco such as mint, apple, cappuccino, or coconut. This form of "social smoking" is often thought to be less harmful, but hookah smoking has many of the same health risks as cigarette smoking.

Also popular among adolescents are electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes). This 2012 survey also found that from 2011 to 2012, there was a significant increase in e-cigarette use in both middle school and high school students. Nicotine in e-cigarettes is heated by a battery and vaporized and inhaled (or vaped), rather than lit with a flame and smoked. More than a 250,000 youths who had never smoked a cigarette used electronic cigarettes in 2013. Additionally, a 2012 study found that 76% of middle and high school students who used e-cigarettes within the past 30 days also smoked conventional cigarettes around the same time.

Currently, there is no significant data indicating that vaporized nicotine causes young people to try other tobacco products nor is there data proving that it is safe to use. It can be helpful to begin discussing these alternate methods of tobacco use with your teen and let them know they are not necessarily safe alternatives to conventional cigarettes.

Take a Parental Stand Against Tobacco

Speaking with your children early and often about the dangers of tobacco use is key. To do so, you may want to consider that:

Parents are role models and can have the greatest influence in their kids' lives. Set a positive example by tying to quit if you use tobacco. If you smoke, you can also choose not to use tobacco in your children's presence, not offer cigarettes to your kids, and not leave cigarettes where they can easily get it

Starting the discussion about smoking when your kids are young and continuing it through their high school years, may be the best strategy for preventing teen smoking

Knowing if your teen's friends use tobacco can be important. You may be able to help them practice ways to refuse cigarettes and other tobacco products if their peers offer it to them

Helping your kids understand that the media and movies may make smoking seem "cool" when it is actually very harmful can go a long way

Remember, it's much harder to quit smoking than it is to start smoking in the first place. Have your teen speak with an adult who smokes to understand just how difficult it is to stop smoking. It is vital for parents to have a positive influence on preventing adolescent smoking.

Dr. Larry Samuels is a Senior Medical Director at Pfizer in the Cardiovascular Metabolic Therapeutic Area and a former Research Scientist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

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Did you know that each day there are more than 3,200 people, under the age of 18, who smoke their first cigarette? The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that in 2012, 7% of middle school and 23% of high school students reported current use a tobacco product.

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Tobacco use is Bad. (Credible source #1)

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Tobacco use is Bad. (Credible source #1)

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This explains how not smoking can be better a tobacco.

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​​​​Most teenagers are aware that tobacco use is a leading cause of death. However, this doesn't stop them from trying tobacco products. Trying tobacco just one time puts them at risk for addiction to nicotine.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) supports actions to help prevent teens from using tobacco, including restricting advertising and raising the product prices and purchase age of tobacco products. See Raise the Tobacco-Buying Age to 21: AAP Explains Why.

Health Concerns and Fast Facts

Health problems caused by tobacco use include tooth decay, damaged metabolism, frequent coughing, increased phlegm, decreased physical fitness, and breathing problems.

90% of daily tobacco users begin by age 18.

In 2014, 25% of high school students reported current use of a tobacco product, including 13% who reported current use of two or more tobacco products.

Types of tobacco products used by high school students include: e-cigarettes, hookah, cigarettes, cigars (including small cigars or cigarillos like Swisher Sweets or Black and Milds), smokeless tobacco, pipes, snus, bidis, and dissolvable tobacco.

Factors that can influence tobacco use are:

Use of tobacco products by friends or family members

Lack of parental support or involvement

Accessibility, availability, and price of tobacco products

Low levels of academic achievement

Low self-esteem

Exposure to tobacco advertising (including in movies, TV, or video games)

Tips to Keep Teens from Using Tobacco Products

Be a role model for your children. Children of current and former smokers face an elevated risk of becoming a smoker.

If you smoke, try to quit. Enlist your family's support. Seeing how difficult it is for you to quit may be enough to keep your kids from starting. Designate your house and car as smoke-free zones.

Be aware of smoking that children see in movies, video games, and on TV. The AAP recommends any movie, TV show, or video game showing tobacco use to be rated for adults only.

Tell your children about the side effects of smoking. Smoking hurts athletic ability, causes wrinkles, stinky breath, stained teeth, and costs a lot of money.

If teens do start to smoke, encourage them to quit. By quitting, people can add years to their lives. It isn't easy, but every attempt should be considered a success.

Think beyond cigarettes. Smokeless tobacco, hookah, e-cigarettes, and cloves are all addictive and can cause health problems. None are safe to use.

Warning: The tobacco industry often creates youth smoking prevention programs that they claim are designed to prevent children from becoming smokers. These programs have been found to be ineffective and to do more harm than good. Always look closely at a youth smoking prevention program or campaign and see who is behind it before introducing your children or students to the information. Programs for smoking prevention should be evidence-based and not have any industry oversight in educational content.

Additional Information & Resources:

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teens and tobacco~ health problems caused by tobacco~ tooth decay~ damaged metabolism~ frequent coughing~ increased phlegm~ decreased physical fitness~ and breathing problems.~ quitting smoking~ alternatives to cigarettes~ teenage smoking~ stats on smoke

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​​​​Most teenagers are aware that tobacco use is a leading cause of death. However, this doesn't stop them from trying tobacco products. Trying tobacco just one time puts them at risk for addiction to nicotine. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) supports actions to help prevent teens from using tobacco, including restricting advertising and raising the product prices and purchase age of tobacco products.

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This shows that people think smoking at a younger age is okay and that smoking in general starts at about an average age of about 12.6 years.

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Raising the Smoking Age to 21 Is Pointless

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Prior to this trend of raising the age to 21, the smoking rate was already decreasing these past few years, as the CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] graph to the right shows [not shown]. Last year, 18 percent of Americans smoked, down from about 21 percent in 2009, and almost 25 percent in 1997.

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This shows that many campaigns can help with the youth smoking. As well as helps people learn about the negative effects of smoking.

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Antismoking Campaigns Can Be Effective with Teens

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Teen Smoking, edited by Roman Espejo, Greenhaven Press, 2014. At Issue. Opposing Viewpoints in Context, http%3A%2F%2Flink.galegroup.com%2Fapps%2Fdoc%2FEJ3010274221%2FOVIC%3Fu%3Dpl2683%26sid%3DOVIC%26xid%3Dffe359d9. Accessed 6 Mar. 2019. Originally published as "Graphic Anti-Smoking Ads from the CDC-Will Teens Care?" www.celebritydiagnosis.com, 21 Mar. 2012.

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This states that smoking can have negative effects on everyone even if you don't smoke second hand smoke is dangerous.

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However, the tobacco industry's influence in government circles does not protect it from private lawsuits. During the 1990s, many smokers and their families sued tobacco companies, demanding compensation for health problems caused by smoking. Some of them accused the tobacco industry of deliberately concealing evidence that smoking is dangerous.

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Smoking has a different negative effect to each organ(image #5
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Smoking has a different negative effect to each organ(image #5
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These are some of the effects of smoking.

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Smoking has many negative side effects (video #1)

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Smoking has many negative side effects (video #1)

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this video illustrates a person after a while of smoking and all of smoking's individual effects on each organs.

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Smoking and its effects on Health - Stop today!

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Quitting is only good for you (video #2)

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Quitting is only good for you (video #2)

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This video illustrates how your health gets better and your body is healthier after smoking but simultaneously describes many awful effects of smoking

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What Happens To Your Body When you Quit Smoking For 1 hour, 1 Day, 1 Month and 1 Year

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Furniture in a household of smokers is nasty.(image#4)

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Furniture in a household of smokers is nasty.(image#4)

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Some chemicals in cigarettes can make furniture nasty such as a kids bed or couch.

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Second hand smoke is dangerous to everyone (image #3)

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Second hand smoke is dangerous to everyone (image #3)

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kids adults and teens can get poisoned by toxins in smoke clouds.

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This image shows a child with a pack of cigarettes while the child may not be smoking them if cigarettes are in a common household teens might get the urge to try it .

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Smoking can cause lots of terrible side effects (image #1)

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Smoking can cause lots of terrible side effects (image #1)

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Smoking can cause many negative effects but in teens could be much worse than adults because of these negative effects.