Teen Smoking

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Teen Smoking

Peer pressure, to availability, to promotion, to the main cause, negative influences. These are some reasons that cause teens to smoke before the age of 18. Peer pressure is one of the most common effects that cause teens to smoke or try something that shouldn’t be tried. Especially when hanging with friends, a lot of teens get pressured into doing things and one of them is smoking. Friends pressure them into smoking and that’s when they try to fit in so they won’t get teased or become ashamed because they didn’t want to try it. Promotion or availability is when teens get influenced by watching adults such as relatives, parents, aunts and uncles smoke. They pick up that vibe where in their mind they are thinking "If they can do that, then why can’t I?" Also when teens watch someone they look up to as a role model, they follow them because they want to be just like them, but one day not realizing they are picking up a bad habit that shouldn’t be followed. Even favorite singers, actors etc., are strong influences on young teens. Availability is another, especially when parents allow their kids to smoke and also giving them the cigarettes to smoke or some go to a gas station and have someone older get a pack of cigarettes for them because of being underage. (Due to peer pressure, 2003)

Negative influence is another; it is caused by peer pressure or the wrong peer group, which could be friends with a problem in their life that they would rather not say anything about. So it is their behaviors that is a negative influence for other teens, also their adult family members like their parents, aunties, uncles and cousins. They also can pressure teens to do things that they do, for example: when a teen wants to try something, parents motivate them to try it. That’s when teens have negative influence not only by friends but someone close to you that you would never think would do such a thing like pressuring you into something.

Who? What? When? Where? Why?

During the World War I era, cigars were smoked primarily by the wealthy but when cigar companies had left over tobacco they used them to make cigarettes. Usually the lower class would smoke cigarettes. Eventually they started to mass produce the product and more and more people started to smoke them.

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