In PSHE I have looked at drugs, household budgets, influences, fitness and sex!
I have chosen to carry out my coursework on the topic of smoking because I find this subject interesting as I see it all the time in my everyday life and more of my friends have started smoking recently in their teen years, also because I have felt the peer pressure of doing it before.
Most teens begin smoking as a result of peer pressure. They think that it's okay because their friends are doing it. At this age, teens suffer with insecurity, and they have a great desire to fit in. They think they will not get addicted. Young people underestimate the addictive qualities of nicotine. Seventy-five percent of all adult smokers thought they would never get addicted as teenagers.
Another reason young people begin smoking is that the teen years are a rebellious stage in life. Since smoking is illegal for teenagers, and most adults (even adults who smoke) say teens shouldn't smoke, the rebellious spirit in many teens gives them a reason to smoke. It makes teens feel grown up. They feel cool. They don't understand that being cool doesn't matter when they're dead. But many teens don't think that could happen to them.
A reason that many teenage girls smoke is to lose weight. It is commonly believed that smoking causes weight loss. It certainly is the unhealthy way to lose it. The benefits of losing weight are counter balanced by the dangers of the smoke in the body. The issue of weight loss also comes back to insecurity of teens. Teenage girls are extremely self-conscious about their bodies. When they see these perfect, thin models smoking, a light goes on in their heads and they think if they smoke they will be like them.
Smoking is ADDICTIVE-many teens don’t believe this but I believe it’s true! It gives you a ‘smoker’s cough’, makes you smell, may lead to lung cancer and other health problems.
I think it takes a bigger person to say “NO”! Smoking critics know what they are talking about and loads of people around the world are dying from the effects of smoking so why do it in the first place?
Personally I think smoking should be legal for teenagers because then it wouldn’t be a big a deal and smokers wouldn’t look ‘cool’ they would just look silly!!!
I think teens smoke because it’s illegal and they want to be rebellious but if they were allowed to do it freely less of them would want to.
My Granddad smoked for 50years and was diagnosed with cancer last March, he died in May!!!!! So I don’t think having black lungs is ‘cool’!
Smoking makes your teeth yellow and ugly looking and also makes your skin bad.
