Every day in the U.S., 3,450 kids under the age of 18 try their first cigarette, and another 850 kids become regular smokers, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Smokers are at an increased risk of developing lung diseases, cardiovascular disease and cancer, and smoking is the number one preventable cause of death in the United States. According to the CDC, more than 80 percent of adult smokers picked up the habit before they turned 18. Parents, teachers and coaches should make an effort to talk to kids about the dangers of smoking from an early age because kids who don't start smoking before the age of 18 are less likely to start.
Ingredients
Although the dried tobacco leaves that make up a cigarette may seem harmless enough, there are more than 7,000 chemicals in every cigarette. Cigarettes contain acetone, ammonia, carbon monoxide, cyanide, formaldehyde and lead. They also contain tar and nicotine. Many of the chemicals in tobacco smoke cause cancer in humans.
Health Hazards
Smokers experience short and long term health effects. In the short term, smoking can cause tooth decay and gum disease. Smoking also decreases immune response and smokers suffer from coughs, colds, asthma attacks and earaches more often than nonsmokers. Over time, the tar in cigarettes builds up in the lungs and can cause bronchitis, emphysema and lung cancer. The carbon monoxide and nicotine in cigarettes increases the likelihood that a smoker will develop cardiovascular disease.
Addiction
Nicotine is the highly addictive stimulant present in cigarettes that makes it difficult to quit smoking once you have started. According to the U.S. Surgeon General, adolescents can become addicted to nicotine more quickly than adults. In fact, some kids become addicted within days of trying cigarettes. The longer you smoke, the more accustomed your body becomes to the drug, the greater your cravings and the more difficult it becomes to quit.
Appearance
Kids should understand that in addition to the damage that smoking does to the inside of their bodies, smoking has a negative effect on their appearance. Smoking can cause bad breath, and it can cause yellowing of the teeth and finger and toenails. The hair and clothes of people who smoke are often covered in the stale-smelling residue of cigarette smoke. Smokers develop signs of aging faster and develop more wrinkles than nonsmokers.
Considerations
Advertisements for tobacco products often portray smoking as something that popular people like athletes and celebrities do. In reality, smoking impedes athletic performance, so most athletes do not use tobacco products, according to the CDC. Likewise, according to the CDC, most celebrities avoid tobacco products.
References
- Tobacco Free Kids: The Path to Smoking Addiction Starts at Very Young Ages
- PBS Kids: Smoking: Health Hazards
- PBS Kids: Smoking: What's In a Cigarette
- Office of the Surgeon General: A Report of the Surgeon General: How Tobacco Smoke Causes Disease -- The Biology and Behavioral Basis for Smoking-Attributable Disease Fact Sheet
- CDC: Smoking & Tobacco Use
- CDC: Youth and Tobacco Use
