Most adult smokers, about 90 percent, started smoking when they were kids, according to Kids Health. More than 3,000 kids start smoking every day. Adults can help kids understand how the nicotine and chemicals in cigarettes affect their bodies and why, according to PBS Kids, smoking is the United States' leading preventable cause of death. Arm your kids with the facts about smoking and prepare them to make an informed decision not to smoke.
Nicotine Causes Addiction
Cigarettes are addictive. People who start smoking usually find it is very difficult to stop because cigarettes contain nicotine, a drug that causes people to become addicted to cigarettes.
Chemicals Cause Disease
The chemicals in cigarettes are poisonous and can cause diseases, including lung diseases like emphysema and bronchitis. Cigarettes also cause chronic coughs, heart disease, stroke and cancer. Smokers may suffer from ulcers, damage to the liver and kidney, and poor blood circulation in fingers and toes. Smoking causes tooth decay, gum disease, arthritis, asthma and hearing and vision loss.
Personal Appearance
Cigarettes cause yellow stains on teeth, fingernails and toe nails. Long-term smoking can cause wrinkled skin and nicotine-stained fingers and lips. Smoking can cause bad breath and can cause clothing to smell like smoke.
Physical Activity
Smoking interferes with healthy breathing. Athletes who smoke experience poor performance and decreased stamina. Smokers compromise their ability to participate in athletics since smoking is prohibited by many athletic programs.
Home Safety
Home fires caused by cigarettes result in the deaths of about 1,500 children each year. Because tobacco is poisonous, babies and toddlers can become ill if they find and eat cigarettes. In closed areas, smoking fills the air with chemical toxins.
Secondhand Smoke
Secondhand smoke, cigarette smoke you inhale from being near someone who is smoking a cigarette, causes many health problems. Secondhand smoke can cause lung cancer and upper-respiratory ailments. Infants and children who inhale cigarette smoke can develop lung infections and an increased risk of dying from SIDS, or Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Even pets can develop serious diseases from secondhand smoke.
Environmental Concerns
Discarded cigarettes account for most pollution on beaches and are found in nearly every outdoor location. Cigarette filters, which are non-biodegradable, end up in rivers and oceans.
