Health Risks of Smoking for Teens

Besides causing approximately 438,000 deaths a year, smoking puts teens who smoke at risk for serious health problems at an age when their growth can be affected as well. Teenagers who smoke can wind up with health problems on an emotional level as well as a physical level. All too often the health risks smoking teens face can be worse than those of a smoking adult.

Respiratory and Other Problems

Smoking at a young age can increase a youth's chances of getting cancer. The body is growing at this stage of life, and smoking during this period may also interfere with the development of the lungs. Teens who smoke cigarettes every day could become short of breath. They could also develop constant coughing, excess phlegm and a lower resistance to colds. When these teens get sick, they may find that they cannot return to a healthy state so easily. Asthma sufferers put themselves at risk for stronger asthma attacks that may occur more often. Smoking can also create heart problems, and it can diminish the strength of the bones.

Addiction

Teens who smoke may get addicted to the nicotine in cigarettes. The addiction to nicotine is the same as the addiction one gets to heroin, and when the smoker is young, he is more inclined to become hooked on nicotine. If he decides to stop smoking, withdrawal symptoms of depression, insomnia, irritability, problems with mental clarity and focusing and an inability to relax may have a negative impact on school performance and behavior.

Performance in Sports

Many smoking teens find that they can no longer run a distance the way they did before they started smoking. They may get out of breath faster. Teen smokers will not be able to run as fast or as far as they used to before they started smoking. If they play a musical instrument, breathing problems may prevent them from achieving excellence.

Aging and Appearance

People who start smoking at a young age set themselves up for accelerated aging. Smoking creates lines in the face that usually come with age. Smoking also makes the skin dry. Teens who smoke may, over time, be sadly surprised when they look in the mirror years later and see a sallow face full of wrinkles staring back at them. Smoking can also cause teens to have pimples or other problems with their skin. Other ways smoking can affect appearance is by turning teeth and fingers yellow. Smoking also leaves the smoker smelling like cigarette smoke.

Secondhand Smoke

Teens who smoke produce what is called secondhand smoke. Other teens, or adults, who are in their company put themselves at risk of lung cancer or an asthma attack if they have asthma. If they do not have asthma, teens can develop asthma from being around secondhand smoke.