Cigarette smoking is a habit that kills approximately million of people per year. It is surprisingly being picked up by myriad amount of children every day. Smoking becomes a growing trend in the youth community. The number of young smokers have been increased in most American middle schools and high schools. Both girls and boys are smoking because they think it is cool. The four reasons that cause many teenagers to start smoking are peer-pressure, image projection, rebellion, and adult aspirations.
Approximately 3,000 teenagers pick up the smoking habit each day in America. That is roughly one million new teenage smokers per year. About 60% of all high school students try smoking by the time they are seniors because they think it is a cool thing to do (Johnston.) In 1996, smoking rates are 21 percent among eighth-graders (13-14 years old), 30 percent among 10th-graders (15-16 years old), and 34 percent among 12th-graders (17-18 years old). These rates are impressively high, especially when compared to the fact that about 25 percent of all adults are classified as current smokers according to the National Health Interview Survey.
Cigarette smoking peaked in 1996 among eighth, and tenth graders nationwide, and in 1997 among 12th-graders. Since those peak years, there has been a gradual decline in smoking rates, which continued in 1999. (Johnston). Rates of daily smoking are also down from their peak levels (in 1996 for eighth- and 10th-graders and in 1997 for 12th-graders) but did not show much improvement in 1999 specifically, according to Johnston.
"Because young people tend to carry the smoking habits they develop in adolescence into adulthood, the substantial and continuing increases in teen smoking bode ill for the eventual longevity and health of this generation of American young people," concludes Johnston. "Hundreds of thousands of children from each graduating class are likely to suffer appalling diseases, and to die prematurely, as a result of the smoking habits they are developing in childhood and adolescence." Young people continue to report cigarettes as being easily available to them: 77 percent of the eighth-graders, who are 13 or 14 years old, report that cigarettes would be "very easy" or "fairly easy" for them to get, and 91 percent of th...
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...e you smoke. However, in some cases, the young kids are getting addicted after their first try.
Finally, they want to be an adult. Adult aspiration is also one of the reasons that lead some teenagers to smoking. Some teenagers believe that by smoking they are acting like an adult. If the teenager is raised in a community where most of the adults smoke, then this is perhaps a logical conclusion. They have the tendency to imitate what the adults around them did. For some teenagers, they are smoking because they think with a cigarette in their mouth makes them look and feel like an adult. According to my friend John, he said that he was smoking since he was 16, he thought that cigarette made him look cool and feel like an adult.
Thus, there has been a trend increasing over the past few years and a little decline in 1999 among young smokers; however, it did not show much improvement. America is a freedom country, but how can we free the number of young smokers from those cigarettes or seduced advertisers? Therefore, we should find a solution to help the young smokers to quit before the cigarettes put their lives in danger.
Smoking is a lifestyle, a habit, and a trend. Smoking has become a social activity among teens, connecting them through the craving of a smoke. Smoking is seen as seductive and cool in the media and movies which influences teenagers to smoke even more. The World Health Organization has stated that “Tobacco kills around 6 million people each year. More than 5 million of those deaths are the result of direct tobacco use while more than 600,000 are the result of non-smokers being exposed to second-hand smoke.” As of April 2016, only 7% of teenagers in the U.S. smoke, but it is said that tobacco use will kill 8 million people annually by 2030. 99% of adult smokers start in their years as teenagers. Smoking is an epidemic that has taken control of people’s lives since 1881 and the media since the early 1900s. Smoking currently kills about 440,000 people a year in the U.S. I feel that it is an issue because it is the #1 most preventable way to die, but people still continue to smoke because of how it looks and how they are perceived as a person if they do. The fact that people become addicted to a trend that will attribute to their death for the sake of being thought of as cooler, is a problem that needs to be addressed.
Every year in the United States, more than 480,000 people die from tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke; consequently, making this the leading cause of preventable death in this country. People are usually introduced to smoking at a young age; mostly around the preteen years. During this critical time preteen are transitioning from middle school to high school; teens at this age find it a little harder fitting in with others all while forming their own sense of identity. Preteens only pick up the habit of smoking to cope with these challenges. What these teens do not know is that smoking at an early age only increases their chances of suffering from a lifelong addiction. To help assuage the situation the Nicotinell anti-smoking organization
There has been an expediential growth in the number of teenager’s beginning to smokes do to facts such as curiousness, peer
“Youth and Tobacco Use.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. N.p., 14 Feb. 2014. Web. 24 Feb. 2014. .
In recent years, smoking has started to take over the lives of many teenagers. The number of teenagers smoking has increased dramatically in the last several years. This is a major problem because smoking can lead to sickness and major diseases that can lead to death. Teens tend to participate in this while out of the presence of an adult figure. Although teens should not be smoking in the first place, an adult figure should be around to help insure that their children are doing the right things, even when they are behind closed doors with their peers. Teenagers as they mature become a model for younger children and when they set the example of smoking can ruin their good image to the children that look up to them.
... fit in a community, group or gang, to escape or to relax, to feel grown up among other peers, to relieve boredom and give personal excitement, to rebel and get violent without fear, to experiment out of curiosity and the most obvious, peer pressure. These are the excuses Tobacco Companies give people when they claim their advertising is not effecting teenagers, just 18 year old and over. Not one, two, or three year younger teenagers who are under the same understanding of 18 year old when it comes to cigarettes. If Tobacco Companies don’t appreciate what the FDA is doing to their companies, such as gaining the right to put restrictions and regulation on their products, then why do they need icons to make money? The reason is because Tobacco Companies claim they need advertising icons like The Marlboro Man and Joe Camel to replace smokers who have either quit or die.
Through public education, most elementary school kids can understand that smoking is bad for them and that cigarettes are additive. Cigarettes are addictive due to nicotine, a drug found in tobacco (“Quitting Smoking”, 2015). According to Schneider (2016), some of the greatest health problems associated with smoking include: lung cancer, other cancers, coronary heart disease, other heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, other vascular disease, diabetes mellitus, pneumonia, influenza, tuberculosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), prenatal conditions, and sudden infant death syndrome. As stated by the Authority of the American Lung Association in an article titled “Health
Teens smoking has been a public concern for centuries. In a recent article published earlier this year by Fox News, highlighted the rate and risks of teens smoking and the rise of e-cigarettes. One of the main questions posed was, why do teens smoke? There is no definite answer, however, biology has provided a few explanations: Scientific studies shows that, until adolescents are in their twenties their brains are not equipped enough to evaluate and determine the risks and consequences of their actions. This creates vulnerability making them an ideal target for tobacco companies. Luckily, the federal government has set strict rules that limit tobacco companies whose advertisements target minors. Though the rate has dropped for tobacco cigarettes
Smoking has been a popular thing for around 2000 years. Smoking is when you burn tobacco, then inhale the smoke that it produces to feel a little more relaxed. R. Mermelstein from tobacco control states that “One reason why adolescents may not readily stop smoking is that they are dependent on nicotine, even before they become regular or daily smokers.” Teens are
Smoking has life threatening consequences. Adolesense is a confusing time, so encoarging teens to stay away from smoking will help them on a healthier and happier path in life. If teens can: know the consequences, stay active, and manage stress, they have a better chance of staying away from tobacco, and living a nicotine-free lifestyle. This will benift them in the years to come. All in all, most smokers feel regret that they started smoking, so by educating and directing teens on the right path, in the years to come, they can be glad they never
“Whether or not a teenager takes up smoking is heavily influenced by whether or not his parents smoke” (Eberstandt). Parents are a huge factor, but not the only one. “The best predictor of whether a teenager will become a smoker is whether her friends smoke” (Eberstandt). If a teenager frequently hangs out with other teenagers that smoke, that teenager is more likely to join the trend. This is because children and teens are influenced so easily. In today’s society it can be very hard for teenagers to fit in. If the group of people a teenager is around smoke, the teen may join the trend just so they can be accepted into that particular social group. The teen is even more likely to join the trend if they have parents or guardians who smoke. If teens are surrounded by people smoking throughout their childhood, it becomes normal and the teens do not see it as a bad behavior. If children and teenagers are surrounded by smokers throughout their life, they are more likely to pick up the bad habit themselves. This is because their environment is influencing
In recent years, smoking has started to take over the lives of many teenagers. The number of teenagers smoking has increased dramatically in the last several years. This is a major problem because smoking can lead to sickness and major diseases that can lead to death. Teens tend to participate in this while out of the presence of an adult figure. Although teens should not be smoking in the first place, an adult figure should be around to help insure that their children are doing the right things, even when they are behind sealed doors with their peers. Teenagers as they mature become a model for younger children and when they set the example of smoking can ruin their respectable image to the children that look up to them.
According to Slater (2006), many risk-taking teenagers may believe in the use of smoking or alcohol is part of defining who they are. The adolescences who have a reputation of being “cool” or rebellious teenagers believe that they need to smoke to maintain their reputation. Smoking is not considered a health hazard in all cultures. For instance, a young child whose parents are involved in health and wellness will be taught how undesirable smoking is. On the other hand, the family, where the parents smoke, a young child may not be taught about the dangers smoking. Smoking can be a part of certain cultures and at the same time be an example of what not to do in another culture.
Teen Smoking Teen smoking. Those two words mean a lot of things to a lot of different people. To some it means nothing. They are just two meaningless words found under T and S in the dictionary. To others it is as if these words symbolize some sort of treason or crime against society. Yet to others it is just another stereotype to be placed under. And to some it is a salvation. An escape. Unfortunately I am writing this paper so you will get my positions on teen smoking rather than other peoples. Teen smoking gathers a lot of emotions when I think about it. It makes me very angry sometimes. My first draft of this was good but I saw myself getting angry and lashing out on everyone, so I revised it. But enough of that, I find teen smoking to be a very controversial subject. To be completely honest with you I am smoking right now as I am writing this. Obviously I am a smoker. I am 17 years old and I am a smoker. In the late 1990’s, the statistics showed that approximately 25% of teens smoke. That’s one out of every four teenagers. High school is a tough time for teens. These years are critical to a teens future. This explains why a vast majority of smokers start at 16 years or younger with the most common age being 14 years old(freshman). It has also been proven also that teens who score lower in school smoke more than higher scoring students do. It seems that everyone smokes in our school. Our school is overrun with smokers. It is right now at least 50% smokers and 65% if you count the people who will smoke before their high school career is up. We practically encourage it. I mean Fireman’s Field practically condones teen smoking. Teen smoking is defiantly a problem in our school, as well as schools all over the United States. I feel that teen smoking is a huge problem. I feel that too many teenagers smoke cigarettes. It is something that needs to get dealt with. But before I get into that I should probably start with the causes of teen smoking. There are several factors that start teens on smoking cigarettes. There has to be considering that over 1 million new teenagers will start smoking annually. The most common is peer pressure.
Today, there has been an increase in the amount of teenagers who smoke half a pack a day of cigarettes. The number of seniors in high school who have tried cigarettes has decreased over the years, but the number of those who smoke occasionally or half a pack or more a day, has increased. There are many factors as to why teenagers smoke including advertising and teen behavior. There are also a few ways we can stop teenagers from wanting to smoke. Therefore, we need to make teens aware that smoking is not good for you and it is not cool and we need to figure out why teens think it is cool. We need to find out why teens smoke and how we can make the