About Teens And Smoking, The Facts

An exciting fact about teen smokers is that their numbers have been steadily decreasing since the end of the 1990s. However, they still out number adult smokers. Approximately three out of every twenty high school boys and two percent of high school girls use smokeless tobacco, or snuff.

Sadly, the tobacco companies view children and teens as the easiest ones of the population to entice into buying their products. Kids don't understand the dangers and risks of smoking. They tend to believe they are immortal and invulnerable, that they'll live forever. Teens don't realize that smoking or chewing snuff increases their risks of dying from tobacco related diseases at an early age.

The habit forming substance in tobacco is nicotine. Nicotine is very addictive, and continued use makes it very difficult to break away from it. The addiction to nicotine is just as bad, if not worse than getting hooked on heroin or cocaine.

Some smoking facts:

Most people start smoking while in their teens and younger. The younger you take up this habit, the more likely you will continue smoking as an adult. Studies suggest that if smoking isn't started during the teenage years, it usually is never started. Of course, there are some exceptions to this. Some people do in fact start smoking after becoming an adult.

Health problems of kids who smoke:

• Coughing


• Shortness of breath


• Productive/nonproductive cough


• Respiratory illnesses


• Decreased physical fitness


• Poor lung growth and function


• Poor health


• Addiction to nicotine

In the United States each day, more than 3,500 kids under 18 try smoking for the first time, with another 1,100 developing a regular smoking habit. It is estimated that one third of these underage smokers will die from a smoking related illness later in life.

Kids are also into chewing snuff or chewing tobacco, which has more nicotine than cigarettes. Most young people who smoke cigarettes regularly are already addicted to nicotine, and say they would like to quit but can't.

Facts about smokeless tobacco:

• A shredded tobacco that can be sniffed through the nose or placed between the cheek and gum.


• Chewing tobacco and snuff contain 28 cancer-causing agents.


• Smokeless tobacco users have an increased risk of developing oral cancers.

Risks:

• Oral cancers


• Throat cancer


• Esophageal cancer


• Receding gums, which can lead to tooth loss


• Pre-cancerous spots in the mouth, called leukoplakia


• Nicotine addiction

If you have a child who smokes, getting them to quit will take some doing, but there is help. Don't bother with the threats, they don't work. Instead, try to find out why they smoke. Usually, they smoke to be accepted by their peers, who believe it or not, are the most important people to them at their age.

This is why it is important to always keep the lines of communication open with your children at all times. What your children learn from their peers (usually the wrong things) is a lot different than what you are trying to teach them. You can also do what I did with mine and believe me it works. I kept mine under my armpit and avoided much grief! When she grew up, I got a big "Thank you, Mom." Imagine that!

by Barb Hicks, RN