Smoking among adolescents and teens in the United States is a major public health concern. Many young people pick up their first cigarette before age 18. Youth smoking causes early onset of serious health problems, and it can cause serious addiction as youths move into adulthood. Young smokers also tend to have a much more difficult time quitting smoking than those who began smoking later in life, according to MedlinePlus.
Statistics
According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), despite government sanctions prohibiting the sale of tobacco to children, more than 4,000 children under 18 each day try their first cigarette, and around 1,000 become regular smokers. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) conducted a study in 2008 and found that half of all high school graduates had tried tobacco; 90 percent of adult smokers became addicted to cigarettes before age 19. MedlinePlus notes that 30 percent of youth who begin smoking before age 18 will continue smoking and die early.
Impact on Youth Bodies
The CDC website states that adolescents who smoke are much less fit and have more problems with their respiration than other children who are nonsmokers. Also, if a young person smokes, lung damage increases dramatically in early adulthood. Smoking tobacco can cause impaired lung growth, coughing and wheezing in young people. According to MedlinePlus, youth smokers also will have a higher incidence of mental disorders such as anxiety, panic attacks and depression.
Health Problems
Young people and adolescents who smoke damage their developing organs and bodies, the ACS notes. Children and teens who smoke may develop shortness of breath, headaches, increased mucus and coughing, symptoms of cold and flu that are more severe than those in their nonsmoking peers, addiction to nicotine, early heart disease and stroke, gum disease, emphysema and bronchitis, hearing loss and problems with vision.
Brain Development
A study conducted by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, found physiological vulnerabilities in adolescents that can lead to early addiction to tobacco. Exposure to nicotine in the womb affected the nicotine receptors in the adolescent brain. If a child is exposed prenatally to nicotine, she releases less dopamine when she smokes as an adolescent, causing her to smoke more than her peers to achieve the same effect. This leads to a higher incidence of adolescent addiction.
Tobacco Control Initiatives
In March 2010, the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) proposed more restricting guidelines that prevent tobacco companies from targeting youth as a potential consumer of tobacco products. According to the ACS, the rules are designed prevent companies not only from selling cigarette packs containing fewer than 20 cigarettes, but also from distributing samples of their products. By creating these laws, the government hopes to see lower levels of tobacco use among adolescents and teens.
References
- MedlinePlus: Smoking and Youth
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Impact on Unborn Babies, Infants, Children, and Adolescents
- National Institute on Drug Abuse: Nicotine Alters the Developing Rat Brain
- American Cancer Society: FDA Announces New Rules to Curb Youth Smoking
- American Cancer Society: Child and Teen Tobacco Use
