At a local Kentucky convenience store you can buy a pack of Marlboro cigarettes for about $4.50. For the same price as a cheap lunch a teenager can continue a nicotine addiction for another day. Smokers in Massachusetts, however, can expect to pay over ten dollars for a single pack of smokes. At ten dollars per pack an average smoker in Massachusetts can expect to pay over $3,000 a year. This is one of many reasons why Massachusetts's YRBS rating (a scale to rate the amount of smokers in high schools) is a low 16.0, giving Massachusetts the 10th lowest score out of 43 states rated. Kentucky, however, came in last on the YRBS rankings with a rate of 26.0 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). This awful rank of last is proof that the state of Kentucky is not doing enough to prevent and reduce tobacco use among teenagers and young adults. In order to do this, Kentucky must raise the state tax on tobacco products, effectively use revenue from tobacco taxes to fund smoking cessation programs, and improve the quality of anti-smoking advertising campaigns.
Teenagers normally function financially on a very fixed income, commonly working part time for minimum wage. With cigarette prices at $4.50 per pack a high school student can afford to smoke regularly, but when you double that price a student will think twice about the value of cigarettes. With the numerous health risks associated with smoking, buying cigarettes at any price is not a good choice. But if the price were higher a student would be more likely to be smoke free. When examining the aforementioned correlation between cigarette prices and YRBS rate, one can easily come to the conclusion that a solution to prevent tobacco use amongst Kentucky teenagers would be...
... middle of paper ...
...egative aspects of smoking, the more unlikely they are to believe them (Paek). It doesn't matter how accurate scientific evidence is, or how graphic the image is, Kentucky's anti-smoking efforts will continue to fall short if they bombard kids with campaigns focusing on the negative aspects of smoking.
The Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids projects that 109 thousand current students in Kentucky will die prematurely from smoking. Tobacco companies will continue to pour money into efforts which allure children and students to smoke. The government of Kentucky must break it's mold of incompetent efforts and truly make it a goal to drastically reduce smoking among kids. This is a tall order. By raising the tax on cigarettes and using the revenue from this tax to fund effective smoking cessation programs and advertisement campaigns, however, this goal can be achieved.
Tobacco companies should be prevented from using advertising tactics that target teenagers. There has always been controversy as to how tobacco companies should prevent using advertising tactics to target teenagers. As controversial as this is tobacco companies shouldn’t advertise teen smoking. Many teens may be lured to believe cigarette advertising because it has been part of the American Culture for years, magazine ads and the media target young people, and these companies receive a drastic increase financially; however, the advertising by these cigarette companies has disadvantages such as having to campaign against their own company, limiting their cigarette advertising and becoming a controversial dilemma as to encouraging teenagers to smoke. From billboards to newspaper advertisements, cigarette promotions started becoming part of the American Culture.
Every year in the United States, more than 480,000 people die from tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke; consequently, making this the leading cause of preventable death in this country. People are usually introduced to smoking at a young age; mostly around the preteen years. During this critical time preteen are transitioning from middle school to high school; teens at this age find it a little harder fitting in with others all while forming their own sense of identity. Preteens only pick up the habit of smoking to cope with these challenges. What these teens do not know is that smoking at an early age only increases their chances of suffering from a lifelong addiction. To help assuage the situation the Nicotinell anti-smoking organization
“Youth and Tobacco Use.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. N.p., 14 Feb. 2014. Web. 24 Feb. 2014. .
cool. Talk to your kids at a young age about the dangers of smoking. Identify
Thank you for smoking, it’s what big companies like Marlboro and Camel want to let us know, and keep smoking. Tobacco has been around for thousand of years, but today’s cigarettes contain many harmful and poisonous toxins. Yet, its simple: Tobacco smoking kills, reduces economic productivity, and strengthens poverty. But lets be frank, everyone’s aware of these issues already, everyone’s out to get cigarette companies; however, there’s a bigger problem. What happens when cigarette companies target today’s children?
In one of the article of Baltimore Sun that entitled “Time for the feds to raise the cigarette tax”, it informs us about the government activity on the taxation of cigarettes and how it benefits Maryland by saving lives of smokers, as it’s stated that more than 70,000 lives has been saved due to the lower smoking rates. Maryland has collected revenue of nearly $400 million from tobacco and alcohol. Between the period of 1998 and 2009 there has been a decline in adult smoking rates by 32.6 percent. The congressional budget office have come into conclusion that hike in the tax of cigarettes from $1.01 to $1.51 per pack would help trim costs to Medicare, also there would be a decline in death rates and improve health, this would therefore make the citizens of the US live longer and paying taxes longer. It’s a possibility that tobacco companies are to make a riot, by making statements such as tax revenue is not the dependable source of revenue, and increasing tax will only inspire smuggling. If poor people are the ones who’ll quit the habit of smoking, so much better for them as they’ll benefit a better quality of life, but there will be a raise in the cost of Social security as there are healthier individuals who are likely to live longer, and hat would result in more retirees.
Each year 440,000 people die, in the United States alone, from the effects of cigarette smoking (American Cancer Society, 2004). As discussed by Scheraga & Calfee (1996) as early as the 1950’s the U.S. government has utilized several methods to curb the incidence of smoking, from fear advertising to published health warnings. Kao & Tremblay (1988) and Tremblay & Tremblay (1995) agreed that these early interventions by the U.S. government were instrumental in the diminution of the national demand for cigarettes in the United States. In more recent years, state governments have joined in the battle against smoking by introducing antismoking regulations.
Ninety percent of smokers begin before the age nineteen. Tobacco is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States. Thirty percent of teenagers that smoke continue to smoke and die early because of it. Studies have also show that the first time tobacco is introduced in one’s life is before graduation. (11 facts about teen smoking) Teen smoking is not only dangerous but is also very deadly. Over thirteen hundred people in the United States die a day because of smoking, so if we can decrease the amount of teen smoking would decrease those numbers dramatically. If we as people would help show those who smoke the cost of how much money they spend just in a month own cigarettes just that could change their mind. Many of the one’s who smoke tend to have problems financially. We need to show them that cigarettes cost so much and could increase the amount of money they could have for themselves or for other things that they need at home or for some can help pay for their
Smoking cigarettes is a detrimental practice not only to the smoker, but also to everyone around the smoker. According to an article from the American Lung Association, “Health Effects” (n.d.), “Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the U.S., causing over 438,000 deaths per year”. The umbrella term for tobacco use includes the use of cigarettes, cigars, e-cigs and chewing tobacco. While tobacco causes adverse health consequences, it also has been a unifying factor for change in public health. While the tobacco industries targets specific populations, public health specifically targets smokers, possible smokers, and the public to influence cessation, policies and education.
Smoking related deaths around the world are one of the many reasons on why minors (kids under the age of 18) shouldn’t smoke. Every year around 4.8 million people die from smoking related reasons and a third of them are minors. Also, because minors are still in the process of their brains developing, the smoke vapor they inhale and exhale messes around with many of the genes inside of their brain. One study shows that new data, from animals and human cells, show that vapors released by e-cigarettes and normal cigarettes can alter the activity of many genes (Raloff, 2). This shows that minors shouldn’t smoke because the vapor messes with their brain, that they need to use for school and other activities they do throughout
Increasing tax would raise the price of tobacco products. This policy is an effective way to persuade young people to stop or not to start smoking. Increasing price is effective intervention for young people, because people with lower incomes tend to be more sensitive to price increases. However, increase taxes only a...
Cigarette smoking has become a part of the daily life of many Americans. At every given second, someone somewhere is smoking a cigarette. Beginning in the early 20th century, institutions have been investigating the negative, and in some cases fatal, effects smoking tobacco products has on the body. Banning cigarette commercials from television and mandating warning labels on all sold tobacco products have not been enough to keep hundreds of thousands of people dying each year from the long term effects of tobacco. This country has taken a focus to begin to legalize marijuana; however, the focus should change to this negative element of our economy. Cigarettes should be illegal in the United States for its extensive damage to the body and it’s near guaranteed cause of death.
Ninety percent of smokers begin before the age nineteen. Tobacco is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States. Thirty percent of teenagers that smoke continue to smoke and die early because of it. Studies have also show that the first time tobacco is introduced in one’s life is before graduation. (11 facts about teen smoking) Teen smoking is not only dangerous but is also very deadly. Over thirteen hundred people in the United States die a day because of smoking, so if we can decrease the amount of teen smoking would decrease those numbers dramatically. If we as people would help show those who smoke the cost of how much money they spend just in a month own cigarettes just that could change their mind. Many of the one is who smoke tend to have problems financially. We need to show them that cigarettes cost so much and could increase the amount of money they could have for themselves or for other things that they need at home or for some can help pay for their
Teen Smoking Teen smoking. Those two words mean a lot of things to a lot of different people. To some it means nothing. They are just two meaningless words found under T and S in the dictionary. To others it is as if these words symbolize some sort of treason or crime against society. Yet to others it is just another stereotype to be placed under. And to some it is a salvation. An escape. Unfortunately I am writing this paper so you will get my positions on teen smoking rather than other peoples. Teen smoking gathers a lot of emotions when I think about it. It makes me very angry sometimes. My first draft of this was good but I saw myself getting angry and lashing out on everyone, so I revised it. But enough of that, I find teen smoking to be a very controversial subject. To be completely honest with you I am smoking right now as I am writing this. Obviously I am a smoker. I am 17 years old and I am a smoker. In the late 1990’s, the statistics showed that approximately 25% of teens smoke. That’s one out of every four teenagers. High school is a tough time for teens. These years are critical to a teens future. This explains why a vast majority of smokers start at 16 years or younger with the most common age being 14 years old(freshman). It has also been proven also that teens who score lower in school smoke more than higher scoring students do. It seems that everyone smokes in our school. Our school is overrun with smokers. It is right now at least 50% smokers and 65% if you count the people who will smoke before their high school career is up. We practically encourage it. I mean Fireman’s Field practically condones teen smoking. Teen smoking is defiantly a problem in our school, as well as schools all over the United States. I feel that teen smoking is a huge problem. I feel that too many teenagers smoke cigarettes. It is something that needs to get dealt with. But before I get into that I should probably start with the causes of teen smoking. There are several factors that start teens on smoking cigarettes. There has to be considering that over 1 million new teenagers will start smoking annually. The most common is peer pressure.
Today, there has been an increase in the amount of teenagers who smoke half a pack a day of cigarettes. The number of seniors in high school who have tried cigarettes has decreased over the years, but the number of those who smoke occasionally or half a pack or more a day, has increased. There are many factors as to why teenagers smoke including advertising and teen behavior. There are also a few ways we can stop teenagers from wanting to smoke. Therefore, we need to make teens aware that smoking is not good for you and it is not cool and we need to figure out why teens think it is cool. We need to find out why teens smoke and how we can make the