Perhaps the most dangerous health risk of teenage smoking is that the potential harm will grow with age. Most adult tobacco users who never kick the habit began smoking in their teens. The International Agency on Cancer Research relates that half of these lifelong smokers will die from diseases caused by cigarette smoking. The health problems related to smoking are not limited to personal choice but extend to the damage done to others by secondhand smoke.
Nicotine Dependence
Becoming addicted to nicotine means that the short-term effects of tobacco use become potentially chronic, and even fatal, ills. The risk of addiction in new smokers is strong. Nicotine is as habit-forming as heroin, Kids Health reports, and a tolerance may build within days of a teenager's first cigarette. Furthermore, the National Institute on Drug Abuse notes that less than 10 percent of all smokers are able to quit, and those who start before age 21 find tobacco use cessation the most difficult.
Frequent Respiratory Problems
Kids Health lists throat irritation, coughing and shortness of breath among the common symptoms of teenage smokers. Stress on the respiratory system makes teen tobacco users more vulnerable than nonsmokers to colds, flu, pneumonia and bronchitis. Damage to the bronchi and lungs caused by cigarette smoking can lead to chronic bronchitis in teenagers, a serious health problem that may precede emphysema.
The U.S. surgeon general cites these and other factors that contribute to teenage smokers' lower level of physical fitness than their nonsmoking peers. Teens with sports or exercise goals risk poorer performance compared to nonsmokers.
Poor Health Outlook
The combination of nicotine dependence and repeated physical stress from teenage cigarette smoking raises the risks for future poor health. Among the potentially fatal diseases and conditions that the surgeon general considers more likely in long-term smokers than nonsmokers are emphysema, coronary artery disease, heart attack, stroke and lung cancer.
Secondhand Smoke
Cigarette smoking raises health risks to other people via the damage done by secondhand smoke. Inhaling airborne tobacco smoke causes coronary artery disease and lung cancer in a percentage of nonsmokers, especially those with genetic predispositions, which are inherited factors that increase the likelihood of disease. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention attribute nearly 50,000 deaths from these diseases per year to passive smoke exposure.
According to the surgeon general, health problems in children caused by breathing cigarette smoke include severe asthma attacks, ear infections and sudden infant death syndrome. Teenagers who smoke directly risk the health and development of young siblings and other young nonsmokers. Pregnant smokers transmit toxins to their babies in the womb, creating delivery complications and reducing infant lung function.
References
- International Agency for Research on Cancer: Harm From Smoking
- Kids Health: Kids and Smoking
- National Institute on Drug Abuse: Effects of Nicotine
- U.S. Surgeon General: Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Health Effects of Secondhand Smoke
