Is Teen Smoking Really
Cool
- Over 1 million
people die every year from tobacco related
illnesses.
- Many teens think it is
cool to smoke due to peer pressure, TV advertising and
other forms of media. It
is a sad fact
but because of this many teens are getting
addicted to nicotine and cigarettes.
So what are the
big inluences To make Teenagers take
up Smoking?
Often the biggest influences
for teen smoking are the kid's parents. When a child sees a
parent smoking they begin to think it is okay for them to do
the same thing.
Though parents are a big
influence some other huge influences for teens to smoke are:
movies, television, advertising and friends.
Advertisements for smoking that
target kids are so effective that the government has issued a
policy to discourage tobacco advertisement to children on
penalty of fine.
Your teen's friends are also a
big influence. Friends of your teen can often be the source
that provides the cigarettes. Friends use peer pressure to
encourage smoking.
When your teen gets a hold of
cigarettes and starts experimenting, nicotine's addicting
traits help to quickly ingrain the smoking habit.
Nicotine - The Addicting Drug in
Cigarettes
Nicotine is a key ingredient
in cigarettes. It is key because it is so highly addictive to
the smoker. Nicotine not only is the main cause of the smoking
addiction, it is also extremely toxic and causes irritation of
lung tissue. It constricts blood vessels, increases blood
pressure and heart rate and stimulates the central nervous
system. In recent years, cigarette makers have been boosting
the levels of nicotine in their cigarettes - no doubt to
increase smoking addiction and sell more cigarettes.
Smoking’s Long Term
Health Problems
Of the many
long-term health problems you can get from smoking, emphysema,
heart disease and cancer are the worst. Many people think the
only cancer you can get from smoking is lung cancer. This is
not true. You can also get mouth, pharynx, esophagus, pancreas,
urinary gland and kidney cancer.
Smoking is Hard To
Quit
The physical craving for nicotine
makes it hard for smokers to quit. It may seem hopeless once a
smoking habit has begun; however there are many treatments for
quitting smoking.
5 Tips To Help Smokers
Quit
- Get rid of all your
cigarettes, tobacco, lighters and other smoking
paraphernalia.
- Get support from friends,
family or a smoking cessation group.
- Learn new skills and
behaviors you can do when you get the urge to
smoke.
- If needed, get medication
for smoking cessation and use it correctly to cut the
craving for cigarettes.
- Be prepared for difficult
situations and temptations to relapse.
For some people getting prepared
to quit by following the tips above is not enough to
successfully follow through. Many people who want to quit
smoking have to give themselves additional motivation to stop
smoking.
Some additional motivators
include:
- Parents focus on how stopping
smoking will help their children have less chance of becoming
smokers themselves.
- Many people remind themselves
of the money they will save each day by not smoking. If
cigarettes are averaging $4/pack, and a person smokes a pack a
day that is $120/month or $1,440 each year.
- Other smokers who want to quit
focus on the ill health effects they are exposing themselves to
like heart attack, stroke or cancer.
Bottom line is that smoking is a
detrimental habit that causes disease and wastes money. Smoking
cigarettes is foolish - the only way to be cool is to
quit.
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