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smoking
When
your parents were young, people could buy cigarettes and smoke pretty
much anywhere - even in hospitals! Ads for cigarettes were all over the
place. Today we're more aware about how bad smoking is for our health.
Smoking is restricted or banned in almost all public places and
cigarette companies are no longer allowed to advertise on buses or
trains, billboards, TV, and in many magazines.
Almost
everyone knows that smoking causes cancer, emphysema, and heart
disease; that it can shorten your life by 14 years or more; and that the
habit can cost a smoker thousands of dollars a year. So how come
people are still lighting up? The answer, in a word, is addiction.
Once You Start, It's Hard to Stop
Smoking's
a hard habit to break because tobacco contains nicotine, which is
highly addictive. Like heroin or other addictive drugs, the body and
mind quickly become so used to the nicotine in cigarettes that a person
needs to have it just to feel normal.
Almost
no smoker begins as an adult. Statistics show that about nine out of
10 tobacco users start before they're 18 years old. Some teens who
smoke say they start because they think it helps them look older (it
does - if yellow teeth and wrinkles are the look you want). Others
smoke because they think it helps them relax (it doesn't - the heart
actually beats faster while a person's smoking). Some light up as a way
to feel rebellious or to set themselves apart (which works if you want
your friends to hang out someplace else while you're puffing away).
Some start because their friends smoke - or just because it gives them
something to do.
Some
people, especially girls, start smoking because they think it may help
keep their weight down. The illnesses that smoking can cause, like
lung diseases or cancer, do cause weight loss - but that's not a very
good way for people to fit into their clothes!
Another
reason people start smoking is because their family members do. Most
adults who started smoking in their teens never expected to become
addicted. That's why people say it's just so much easier to not start
smoking at all.
The
cigarette ads from when your parents were young convinced many of them
that the habit was glamorous, powerful, or exciting - even though it's
essentially a turnoff: smelly, expensive, and unhealthy. Cigarette ads
from the 1940s even showed doctors recommending cigarettes as a way to
relax!
Cigarette
ads still show smokers as attractive and hip, sophisticated and
elegant, or rebellious and cool. The good news is that these ads aren't
as visible and are less effective today than they used to be: Just as
doctors are more savvy about smoking today than they were a generation
ago, teens are more aware of how manipulative advertising can be. The
government has also passed laws limiting where and how tobacco
companies are allowed to advertise to help prevent young kids from
getting hooked on smoking.
How Smoking Affects Your Health
There
are no physical reasons to start smoking - the body doesn't need
tobacco the way it needs food, water, sleep, and exercise. In fact,
many of the chemicals in cigarettes, like nicotine and cyanide, are
actually poisons that can kill in high enough doses. The body's smart
and it goes on the defense when it's being poisoned. For this reason,
many people find it takes several tries to get started smoking:
First-time smokers often feel pain or burning in the throat and lungs,
and some people feel sick or even throw up the first few times they try
tobacco.
The
consequences of this poisoning happen gradually. Over the long term,
smoking leads people to develop health problems like cancer, emphysema
(breakdown of lung tissue), organ damage, and heart disease. These
diseases limit a person's ability to be normally active - and can be
fatal. Each time a smoker lights up, that single cigarette takes about 5
to 20 minutes off the person's life.
Smokers
not only develop wrinkles and yellow teeth, they also lose bone
density, which increases their risk of osteoporosis (pronounced:
ahs-tee-o-puh-row-sus, a condition that causes older people to become
bent over and their bones to break more easily). Smokers also tend to
be less active than nonsmokers because smoking affects lung power.
Smoking can also cause fertility problems in both men and women and can
impact sexual health in males.
The
consequences of smoking may seem very far off to many teens, but
long-term health problems aren't the only hazard of smoking. Nicotine
and the other toxins in cigarettes, cigars, and pipes can affect a
person's body quickly, which means that teen smokers experience many of
these problems:
•
Bad skin. Because smoking restricts blood vessels, it can prevent
oxygen and nutrients from getting to the skin - which is why smokers
often appear pale and unhealthy. An Italian study also linked smoking
to an increased risk of getting a type of skin rash called psoriasis.
• Bad breath. All those cigarettes leave smokers with a condition called halitosis, or persistent bad breath.
•
Bad-smelling clothes and hair. The smell of stale smoke tends to
linger - not just on people's clothing, but on their hair, furniture,
and cars. And it's often hard to get the smell of smoke out.
•
Reduced athletic performance. People who smoke usually can't compete
with nonsmoking peers because the physical effects of smoking - like
rapid heartbeat, decreased circulation, and shortness of breath -
impair sports performance.
•
Greater risk of injury and slower healing time. Smoking affects the
body's ability to produce collagen, so common sports injuries, such as
damage to tendons and ligaments, will heal more slowly in smokers than
nonsmokers.
•
Increased risk of illness. Studies show that smokers get more colds,
flu, bronchitis, and pneumonia than nonsmokers. And people with certain
health conditions, like asthma, become more sick if they smoke (and
often if they're just around people who smoke). Because teens who smoke
as a way to manage weight often light up instead of eating, their
bodies lack the nutrients they need to grow, develop, and fight off
illness properly.
Smoking Is Expensive
Not
only does smoking damage health, it costs an arm and a leg. Depending
on where you live, smoking a pack of cigarettes a day can cost about
$1,800 dollars a year. That adds up. It's money you could save or spend
on something for yourself.
Kicking Butt and Staying Smoke Free
All
forms of tobacco - cigarettes, pipes, cigars, and smokeless tobacco -
are hazardous. It doesn't help to substitute products that seem like
they're better for you than regular cigarettes - such as filter or
low-tar cigarettes.
The
only thing that really helps a person avoid the problems associated
with smoking is staying smoke free. This isn't always easy, especially
if everyone around you is smoking and offering you cigarettes. It may
help to have your reasons for not smoking ready for times you may feel
the pressure, such as "I just don't like it" or "I want to stay in
shape for soccer" (or football, basketball, or other sport).
The
good news for people who don't smoke or who want to quit is that
studies show that the number of teens who smoke is dropping
dramatically. Today, only about 22% of high school students smoke, down
from 36% just 7 years ago.
If
you do smoke and want to quit, there's more information and support
out there than ever. Different approaches work for different people -
for some, quitting cold turkey is best, whereas others find that a
slower approach is the way to go. Some people find that it helps to go
to a support group especially for teens; these are sometimes sponsored
by local hospitals or organizations like the American Cancer Society.
And the Internet offers a number of good resources. Check out some of
these by clicking on the Resources tab to the right of this article.
When quitting, it can be helpful to realize that the first few days are
the hardest, and it's normal to have a few relapses before you manage
to quit for good.
Staying
smoke free will give you a whole lot more of everything - more energy,
better performance, better looks, more money in your pocket, and, in
the long run, more life to live
smoking
When
your parents were young, people could buy cigarettes and smoke pretty
much anywhere - even in hospitals! Ads for cigarettes were all over the
place. Today we're more aware about how bad smoking is for our health.
Smoking is restricted or banned in almost all public places and
cigarette companies are no longer allowed to advertise on buses or
trains, billboards, TV, and in many magazines.
Almost
everyone knows that smoking causes cancer, emphysema, and heart
disease; that it can shorten your life by 14 years or more; and that the
habit can cost a smoker thousands of dollars a year. So how come
people are still lighting up? The answer, in a word, is addiction.
Once You Start, It's Hard to Stop
Smoking's
a hard habit to break because tobacco contains nicotine, which is
highly addictive. Like heroin or other addictive drugs, the body and
mind quickly become so used to the nicotine in cigarettes that a person
needs to have it just to feel normal.
Almost
no smoker begins as an adult. Statistics show that about nine out of
10 tobacco users start before they're 18 years old. Some teens who
smoke say they start because they think it helps them look older (it
does - if yellow teeth and wrinkles are the look you want). Others
smoke because they think it helps them relax (it doesn't - the heart
actually beats faster while a person's smoking). Some light up as a way
to feel rebellious or to set themselves apart (which works if you want
your friends to hang out someplace else while you're puffing away).
Some start because their friends smoke - or just because it gives them
something to do.
Some
people, especially girls, start smoking because they think it may help
keep their weight down. The illnesses that smoking can cause, like
lung diseases or cancer, do cause weight loss - but that's not a very
good way for people to fit into their clothes!
Another
reason people start smoking is because their family members do. Most
adults who started smoking in their teens never expected to become
addicted. That's why people say it's just so much easier to not start
smoking at all.
The
cigarette ads from when your parents were young convinced many of them
that the habit was glamorous, powerful, or exciting - even though it's
essentially a turnoff: smelly, expensive, and unhealthy. Cigarette ads
from the 1940s even showed doctors recommending cigarettes as a way to
relax!
Cigarette
ads still show smokers as attractive and hip, sophisticated and
elegant, or rebellious and cool. The good news is that these ads aren't
as visible and are less effective today than they used to be: Just as
doctors are more savvy about smoking today than they were a generation
ago, teens are more aware of how manipulative advertising can be. The
government has also passed laws limiting where and how tobacco
companies are allowed to advertise to help prevent young kids from
getting hooked on smoking.
How Smoking Affects Your Health
There
are no physical reasons to start smoking - the body doesn't need
tobacco the way it needs food, water, sleep, and exercise. In fact,
many of the chemicals in cigarettes, like nicotine and cyanide, are
actually poisons that can kill in high enough doses. The body's smart
and it goes on the defense when it's being poisoned. For this reason,
many people find it takes several tries to get started smoking:
First-time smokers often feel pain or burning in the throat and lungs,
and some people feel sick or even throw up the first few times they try
tobacco.
The
consequences of this poisoning happen gradually. Over the long term,
smoking leads people to develop health problems like cancer, emphysema
(breakdown of lung tissue), organ damage, and heart disease. These
diseases limit a person's ability to be normally active - and can be
fatal. Each time a smoker lights up, that single cigarette takes about 5
to 20 minutes off the person's life.
Smokers
not only develop wrinkles and yellow teeth, they also lose bone
density, which increases their risk of osteoporosis (pronounced:
ahs-tee-o-puh-row-sus, a condition that causes older people to become
bent over and their bones to break more easily). Smokers also tend to
be less active than nonsmokers because smoking affects lung power.
Smoking can also cause fertility problems in both men and women and can
impact sexual health in males.
The
consequences of smoking may seem very far off to many teens, but
long-term health problems aren't the only hazard of smoking. Nicotine
and the other toxins in cigarettes, cigars, and pipes can affect a
person's body quickly, which means that teen smokers experience many of
these problems:
•
Bad skin. Because smoking restricts blood vessels, it can prevent
oxygen and nutrients from getting to the skin - which is why smokers
often appear pale and unhealthy. An Italian study also linked smoking
to an increased risk of getting a type of skin rash called psoriasis.
• Bad breath. All those cigarettes leave smokers with a condition called halitosis, or persistent bad breath.
•
Bad-smelling clothes and hair. The smell of stale smoke tends to
linger - not just on people's clothing, but on their hair, furniture,
and cars. And it's often hard to get the smell of smoke out.
•
Reduced athletic performance. People who smoke usually can't compete
with nonsmoking peers because the physical effects of smoking - like
rapid heartbeat, decreased circulation, and shortness of breath -
impair sports performance.
•
Greater risk of injury and slower healing time. Smoking affects the
body's ability to produce collagen, so common sports injuries, such as
damage to tendons and ligaments, will heal more slowly in smokers than
nonsmokers.
•
Increased risk of illness. Studies show that smokers get more colds,
flu, bronchitis, and pneumonia than nonsmokers. And people with certain
health conditions, like asthma, become more sick if they smoke (and
often if they're just around people who smoke). Because teens who smoke
as a way to manage weight often light up instead of eating, their
bodies lack the nutrients they need to grow, develop, and fight off
illness properly.
Smoking Is Expensive
Not
only does smoking damage health, it costs an arm and a leg. Depending
on where you live, smoking a pack of cigarettes a day can cost about
$1,800 dollars a year. That adds up. It's money you could save or spend
on something for yourself.
Kicking Butt and Staying Smoke Free
All
forms of tobacco - cigarettes, pipes, cigars, and smokeless tobacco -
are hazardous. It doesn't help to substitute products that seem like
they're better for you than regular cigarettes - such as filter or
low-tar cigarettes.
The
only thing that really helps a person avoid the problems associated
with smoking is staying smoke free. This isn't always easy, especially
if everyone around you is smoking and offering you cigarettes. It may
help to have your reasons for not smoking ready for times you may feel
the pressure, such as "I just don't like it" or "I want to stay in
shape for soccer" (or football, basketball, or other sport).
The
good news for people who don't smoke or who want to quit is that
studies show that the number of teens who smoke is dropping
dramatically. Today, only about 22% of high school students smoke, down
from 36% just 7 years ago.
If
you do smoke and want to quit, there's more information and support
out there than ever. Different approaches work for different people -
for some, quitting cold turkey is best, whereas others find that a
slower approach is the way to go. Some people find that it helps to go
to a support group especially for teens; these are sometimes sponsored
by local hospitals or organizations like the American Cancer Society.
And the Internet offers a number of good resources. Check out some of
these by clicking on the Resources tab to the right of this article.
When quitting, it can be helpful to realize that the first few days are
the hardest, and it's normal to have a few relapses before you manage
to quit for good.
Staying
smoke free will give you a whole lot more of everything - more energy,
better performance, better looks, more money in your pocket, and, in
the long run, more life to live
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