Teens and Smoking Even though there are millions of dollars spent annually on anti-smoking campaigns each year in the United States, approximately 3,000 teens light up for the first time everyday (Roberts). Over eighty percent of people that smoke started when they were under the age of eighteen. Teenagers are aware of the harmful effects of smoking cigarettes but few of these adolescents that do start the deadly and expensive habit are rarely concerned with the irreversible effects that smoking has on the body. “I can smoke for a few years then quit.” Or, “I can smoke now and then and won’t get addicted.” That is the general attitude of most teens that start (Thomas). Smoking has several long term and permanent effects on the body including the most irreversible, death. Over 500,000 Americans die every year from smoking related causes (Breo). That is one in every five deaths of Americans. Smoking creates severe problems in the lungs, the heart, the eyes, the throat, the urinary tract, the digestive system, the bones, and the skin. The most familiar problems associated with smoking are cancers of several organs including the lungs, emphysema, and various types of heart disease; which may lead to heart attacks; ulcers, and generally bad personal hygiene. Once addicted to nicotine, the alkaloid that makes cigarettes addictive, it may be extremely
difficult to quit. Nicotine is one of the most addictive alkaloids known to man and several studies have been conducted to show that of the 46 million smokers in the United States, 34 percent try to quit each year but less than 10 percent succeed. Long-term studies show that more than half of the smoking population will die from their addiction (Roberts). Teens start smoking for all sorts of reasons but lets take a look at teens that have already made that decision to smoke and what effects smoking will have on their bodies if they continue to smoke for ...
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difficult to quit. Nicotine is one of the most addictive alkaloids known to man and several studies have been conducted to show that of the 46 million smokers in the United States, 34 percent try to quit each year but less than 10 percent succeed. Long-term studies show that more than half of the smoking population will die from their addiction (Roberts). Teens start smoking for all sorts of reasons but lets take a look at teens that have already made that decision to smoke and what effects smoking will have on their bodies if they continue to smoke for a period of longer than five years. First, let’s look at the respiratory tract. When the smoke, that caries over 4000 toxins, is inhaled from a cigarette it directly and immediately begins to damage and irritate the lungs. A person that smokes a pack of cigarettes a day is taking the equivalent of one cup of tar annually and spreading it across the lungs. Chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, such as bronchitis and emphysema are quite common amongst smokers. There is a much higher risk of lung cancer as well. This is especially true in women. The leading cause of cancer death, above both breast and colon cancer, is lung cancer generated by smoking. There are common respiratory symptoms from smoking such as wheezing, bad breath, coughing, and infections. Retardation of lung development and lung function is also extremely high and found frequently in children exposed to cigarette smoke (“Bill Clinton vs. Joe Camal). Now, let’s take a look at the heart and the circulation system. Coronary heart disease is the number one problem of the heart found in smokers. Women who smoke and use oral contraceptives are at a much higher risk of developing coronary heart disease. It is sad to say that the first symptom of coronary heart disease may be death of a heart attack. If the smoker is lucky, maybe they will avoid the heart attack and just have a stroke, which is a sudden loss of consciousness and severe attack, which results as a lack of oxygen to the brain. The blood vessels become diseased and narrow causing poor circulation of blood to the body, especially the legs, which in most cases can only be repaired by surgery (Roberts). The eyes and vision are another part of the body that is greatly affected by smoking. One of the most common eye problems that smokers encounter is cataracts, a graying or clouding of the eye, which impairs vision. There can also be signs of vision loss due to restricted blood flow to the eye. The mouth and throat will come across problems such as cancer, gum disease, tooth loss, and deteriorating larynx, which can be noticed by a deepening and hoarseness of the voice (“Selling Tobacco to Kids”). The urinary tract and digestive organs can be plagued with cancer. Smoking is the number one cause of bladder, kidney, pancreatic, and colon cancer. Osteoporosis, a thinning of the bones due to loss of bone minerals, can occur rapidly in women that smoke. Osteoporosis is responsible for most disabilities in older women. The bones become weak and fracture much easier than those of a non-smoker. Spinal disk disease is extremely common in both men and women. The reproduction system is gravely affected causing infertility, the inability to conceive a child, miscarriage, including stillborns, and sudden infant death syndrome to newborns. There are several consequences from the fetus stage to newborns to children. There are so many fetal problems that Dr.’s have coined the term Fetal Tobacco Syndrome. In a newborn there can be low birth weight, impaired physical and emotional development, and an impaired lung function (Thomas). The premature facial wrinkling and darkening of skin under the eyes can be contributed to greatly by smoking. This is all just a general summary the effects that smoking have on an individuals body once a person decides to smoke. The fact of the matter is that smoking causes severe physical irreversible affects not only on the body of the smoker but also on the bodies of those around the smoke. There is a higher death rate, disease rate, and disability rate of those who smoke and all of these rates are still higher even after you quit (“Selling Tobacco to Kids”). Cigarette manufacturing is one of the largest businesses in the world and the United States is the leading country of cigarette manufacturing. As long as there is money to be made on the distribution of tobacco, the tobacco companies will continue to spend millions of dollars on advertising to entice youths to start this addictive habit. Thousands of Americans start smoking with all intentions of stopping and find that over the years are unable to quit and stay quit. All odds show to be against the smoker and with the information and experience over the years, I have found that education of smoking and the effects it has may help to deter our youth from never starting. Works Cited "Bill Clinton vs. Joe Camel." U.S. News & World Report. Sep. 1996: 12. Infotrac. Online. 18 Mar, 2001 Breo, Dennis L. "Kicking Butts-AMA, Joe Camel and the 'Black Flag' war on tobacco." JAMA, The Journal of the American Medical Association. 29 Oct. 1993. Roberts, Steven. "Teens on tobacco; kids smoke for reasons all their own". U.S. News & World Report. 18 Apr. 1996: 38. Infotrac. Online. 2 Apr, 2001 "Selling Tobacco to Kids." America. 17 Feb. 1996: 3. Infotrac. Online. 7 Apr, 2001 Thomas, Roger E. "10 steps to keep the children in your practice nonsmokers." American Family Physician. Aug. 1996: 450. Infotrac. Online. The Negative Aspects of Smoking. Robert Paul Volosevich, Jr. Position Paper HED 1010: Introduction to Health Education April 18, 2002