Teenage Wasteland.

        Consequently, as Joe Camel looked “cool” and rebellious this tapped into the unruliness of the majority of teenagers. Teenagers want to feel a sense of independence from their parents, which means making their own choices. This means in the long run, teenagers will choose smoking as a way to show their parents that they can make their own decisions without asking for permission. At the same time, parents are telling their children to make the right choice, but enforcing on them to obey their rules. Smoking is a way for teenagers to rebel against their parents.

        Furthermore, another characteristic of the rise in teenage smokers is parental Influence. Parents who smoke, have a greater chance of having children who smoke. Some say that teenagers know the difference between right or wrong at this point in their lives, so if their parents smoke they will not be affected by it. This is incredibly naïve, to think that teenagers will not be affected by their parent’s actions. Teenagers pick up traits that their parents exhibit, and if smoking is a trait they have, their children have a greater chance of possessing the same feature.

        Teenagers are being bombarded with cigarette ads, subliminal mascots, and their parents influence. However, they must also feel the pressures coming from their peers. The one ultimate cause to why teenagers smoke comes from whom they associate with. Teenagers feel a need to fit in with the people they are around, and not to become a social outcast. So if one teen is in a situation where the “cool” kids are, and this teen is offered a cigarette, chances are he/she will accept it. Bernard Phelps a nineteen year old Bowling Green student has been smoking for almost four years. He stated that he started smoking because he “fell to the pressures of the people around him. I felt that if I had not begun smoking, I would be left behind and seen as a loser.” When asked if he had ever tried to quit the habit he declared “Yes, about 4 times. I have tried to quit but the addiction process has taken a grip on my life. I also feel that if I quit smoking the pressure of all my friends smoking, would throw my habit back into full swing.” Others may feel that a person has the ability to do whatever he/she wants to. However, in Bernard’s case, this is obviously untrue. He has tried to quit, but the friends he made through smoking would not help his situation.

        Everyone knows smoking is hazardous to your health, yet there is a steady rise in the amount of teenage smokers. Factor such as, advertising and the influence of parents help fuel the amount of young teenage smokers. However, peer pressure is truly what brings teenagers to the horrific habit of smoking cigarettes.