Teenage Smoking
When I went to visit my grandmother in the hospital, she was critically ill. I heard the doctor say that she would have a much better chance of survival if she had not been a smoker most of her life. I made the decision then that I would not smoke. Every day more than 3,000 teenagers become regular smokers. That number translates to more than 1 million teenagers a year. About one third of them will eventually die from a tobacco-related disease. Cigarettes kill more than 400,000 Americans every year. A person who smokes a pack or more of cigarettes each day will live about seven fewer years than a nonsmoker. Further, smoking hurts young people's physical performance and endurance. Smoking in young people can hamper both the rate of lung growth and the level of maximum lung functioning. Young people who regularly smoke cough more, have increased phlegm, and more frequency and severity of respiratory illnesses. The Surgeon General's report found that the younger a person starts smoking cigarettes, the more likely he or she is to become strongly addicted to nicotine.
Almost ninety percent of adult smokers begin smoking at or before age eighteen. Currently, about 4.5 million children ages 12 to 17 are smokers, and teenage smoking is still on the rise. Tobacco companies spend roughly $5 billion each year, which is over $13 million every day, promoting their products. Numerous tobacco industry documents that have recently become public because of lawsuits established which the tobacco industry perceives teenagers as a key market for their products. Because of this perception, the tobacco industry has studied the smoking habits of teenagers and developed advertising campaigns aimed at them. One solut...
... middle of paper ...
..., then the health problems associated with smoking will escalate, and there will be more than 400,000 tobacco-related deaths each year. If no one in the world smoked, there would be no tobacco-related illnesses, which include second-hand smoke. Additionally, if no one in the world smoked, there would be no pressure for teenagers to smoke.
Works Cited
- Cigarettes—What’s in them? Tobacco Fact Sheet. 1997. <http://www.
cancercouncil.com.au/cncrinfo/schools/students/smoking_cigarettes.htm>.
- Effects of Second-Hand Smoke. Access Health, Inc. 1996. <https://www.your
Health.com/ahl/1842.html.>
- Teenage Smoking. Kristin Cappon and Kevin Cronk. 2000. <http:// www.
imcnet.net/sybermag/features/smoking.htm.>
- Tobacco—Health Facts. WHO OMS. 1999 April. <http://www.who.int/
inf-fs/en/fact221.html>.
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
Tobacco companies have relied on the media to lure children. They quickly realized that ‘the company that dominates is that which most effectively targets young”(Imperial Tobacco document.) To counteract the idea of disease and other negative aspects of tobacco, the industry used imagery in the media such as natural settings and healthy actors doing active things. This helps them to insinuate that smoking leads to success, romance, sophistication and other advancements in their lifestyle, which was easily imprinted in the minds of children. A document found among Imperial tobacco files described their priority: “…having our imagery reach those non-reading young people who frequent malls should be our chief goal.”(1.170) Unaware of how important the under 18 market was to the industry, the government could only attempt to lengthen the distance between schools and billboards because they’re ineffective attempts were ignored by the large corporations. With many billboards concentrated in small areas it put the idea in children’s minds that smoking was socially acceptable and that t...
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.
Throughout the book, the conflict between the mothers, their Chinese tradition, and language and the daughters, their American tradition, and language are evident. Suyuan and Jing-Mei Woo are mother and daughter, respectively, who are characters that illustrate the conflict between the two cultures.
While todays major tobacco producers deny that they market to the youth. However, we still see them subliminally targeting children through magazine advertisements, store posters, and Internet ads. In addition, they continue to use product placement strategies in mov...
Smoking is a lifestyle, a habit, and a trend. Smoking has become a social activity among teens, connecting them through the craving of a smoke. Smoking is seen as seductive and cool in the media and movies which influences teenagers to smoke even more. The World Health Organization has stated that “Tobacco kills around 6 million people each year. More than 5 million of those deaths are the result of direct tobacco use while more than 600,000 are the result of non-smokers being exposed to second-hand smoke.” As of April 2016, only 7% of teenagers in the U.S. smoke, but it is said that tobacco use will kill 8 million people annually by 2030. 99% of adult smokers start in their years as teenagers. Smoking is an epidemic that has taken control of people’s lives since 1881 and the media since the early 1900s. Smoking currently kills about 440,000 people a year in the U.S. I feel that it is an issue because it is the #1 most preventable way to die, but people still continue to smoke because of how it looks and how they are perceived as a person if they do. The fact that people become addicted to a trend that will attribute to their death for the sake of being thought of as cooler, is a problem that needs to be addressed.
Every year cigarette smoking is responsible for 500,000 premature deaths (Nugel), you do not want to be just another statistic, do you? America’s first cash crop was tobacco. That means that tobacco has been around for a really long time. It was not until 1865, though, that cigarettes were sold commercially. They were sold to soldiers at the end of the Civil War (Dowshen). From then, cigarettes spread like wildfire, and it was not until 1964 that anyone made a stand about the negative effects of tobacco and cigarettes. People start smoking for all different reasons, some to fit in and some to “escape”. Regardless, it is a horrible habit. 3900 children will try their first cigarette today. Amongst adults who currently smoke, 68% of them began at age 18 or younger, and 85% at 21 or younger (American Lung Association). And of all those people, 70% say if they were given another chance they would never have picked up that first cigarette (Tobacco Free Maine). Smoking is responsible for 1 and 5 deaths in the united states, and is the number one preventable cause of death (NLH). Smoking burns and there is no doubt about that, but before one picks up that cigarette, understand the negative effects on not only oneself, but others affected by ones poor choices, like second-hand smoke. Because of smoking cigarettes, many types of cancer, decrease of life quality, and negative health effects have become all too common in the world today.
Peer pressure, to availability, to promotion, to the main cause, negative influences. These are some reasons that cause teens to smoke before the age of 18. Peer pressure is one of the most common effects that cause teens to smoke or try something that shouldn’t be tried. Especially when hanging with friends, a lot of teens get pressured into doing things and one of them is smoking. Friends pressure them into smoking and that’s when they try to fit in so they won’t get teased or become ashamed because they didn’t want to try it. Promotion or availability is when teens get influenced by watching adults such as relatives, parents, aunts and uncles smoke. They pick up that vibe where in their mind they are thinking "If they can do that, then why can’t I?" Also when teens watch someone they look up to as a role model, they follow them because they want to be just like them, but one day not realizing they are picking up a bad habit that shouldn’t be followed. Even favorite singers, actors etc., are strong influences on young teens. Availability is another, especially when parents allow their kids to smoke and also giving them the cigarettes to smoke or some go to a gas station and have someone older get a pack of cigarettes for them because of being underage. (Due to peer pressure, 2003)
Smoking is one of the highly health threatening bad habits in our economy today. Smoke causes lung cancer and other life threatening situations. Quitting smoking reduces the risk of bad lungs and cancers for your loved ones around you. My Grandpa smokes more than often and has had several heart attacks and is still with me today, I hope to have him for another 17 years and more. Smoking harms nearly every organ of the body and diminishes a person’s overall health. Millions of Americans have health problems caused by smoking.
In recent years, smoking has started to take over the lives of many teenagers. The number of teenagers smoking has increased dramatically in the last several years. This is a major problem because smoking can lead to sickness and major diseases that can lead to death. Teens tend to participate in this while out of the presence of an adult figure. Although teens should not be smoking in the first place, an adult figure should be around to help insure that their children are doing the right things, even when they are behind sealed doors with their peers. Teenagers as they mature become a model for younger children and when they set the example of smoking can ruin their respectable image to the children that look up to them.
The smoker also helps 500-1000 non smokers die each year from lung cancer and cardiovascular disease . Moreover, the person to the children developing asthma and allergies.
The governments must ban the sales of tobacco products. There are many consequences to smoking like health, addiction, cessation and economic costs. Second hand smoke is a major problem, since smoking is allowed in alot of public places.
Advertising and marketing of cigarettes are a big factor as to why teenagers smoke. There are promotions for different brands like Joe Camal and Marlboro Man. They’re some of the biggest marketing campaigns on T.V. Both companies have giveaways like T-shirts in return for coupons accumulated by buying their brand of cigarettes. Different cigarette companies make the...
Smoking has a very negative impact on the health of people and causes serious long-term and short-term health problems for both the smoker and non-smoker. The act of smoking began since centuries ago. Today, many people still smoke knowing the fact that it can lead to seious heatlh problems and also possibly death.
What if a man punched you every time you smoked. Wouldn't want to do it now right? Luckily, no one punches you in the face whenever you smoke. However, smoking increases one's risk of lung cancer and various other diseases. Not only that, but by smoking, one risks the lives of many others with second hand smoke. Therefore, smoking harms our society, and can bring nothing but harm.