Teen Smoking

Teen smoking is a pointless waste of time and health, but it’s still a rising problem in our world today. Each day, almost 4,800 teens and kids, ages eleven to seventeen, smoke their very first cigarette; out of these almost 2,000 become regular smokers. That is nearly two million yearly. Smoking is a costly and addictive habit; it takes off years of your life and hours of your time.

Smoking is a serious risk to your health. It can cause many kinds of cancer, gangrene, and numerous other illnesses. Cigarette smoke contains sixty-three chemicals that have been known to cause cancer and many more deadly substances. Sodium hydroxide, a chemical found in cigarettes, is a strong compound found in hair removal products. Hydrogen cyanide has been used in prison executions, and it’s also found in cigarette smoke. An estimated 440,000 Americans die each year from diseases caused by smoking.

No matter how much you tell a teen how awful and life-threatening smoking is, no matter how many facts or proof you throw at them, there will always be teens that get drawn in. Smoking is glorified and made to look cool and harmless in the media today. Tobacco companies specifically target young adults and teens; and it continues to work. Approximately 90 percent of smokers start smoking before they turn twenty-one.

The tobacco companies make candy-flavored cigarettes to appeal to children, and as of 2006, tobacco was still depicted in three-quarters of youth rated movies. When you grow up idolizing and worshiping movie stars and musicians, you’ll do anything to be as cool as they appear. You’ll copy anything they do just to reach the level of independence and appeal of smokers; the tobacco companies prey on that fact. Most people overlook the fact that there is nothing appealing about dying. Some people even think they are invincible to the harm and addiction to cigarettes.

There are many other harmful and threatening things about cigarettes. Teen smoking is also associated with fighting, carrying weapons, having sex, and using alcohol and other drugs. Many researchers even say that tobacco is a gateway drug and almost always leads to use of other, higher risk drugs.

Smoking is also a very costly habit. If we estimate that an average teen smoker smokes a pack a day, and each pack costs $3.25 then it costs them $98.51 a month and about $1,182.09 a year. In 2002, U.S. consumers spent about $88.2 billion on tobacco products.

When it comes down to it, smoking is as addicting as any other drug. Each year, only about five percent of smokers succeed in quitting long-term. That's just five people out of every hundred. Once you pick up a cigarette you are dooming yourself to years and years of wasted money and time. You’re setting yourself up for millions of health scares and a shortened lifespan.

The tobacco industry will do whatever it takes to keep people buying their products. They throw around lies and facts that we cling on to but turn out to be completely untrue. Tobacco companies are a perfect example as to why you cannot trust everything you hear on TV or what you read. They even went as far as to say that smoking is only as addictive as " sugar and salt and Internet access. ". This is completely untrue and gives the false impression that smoking is as harmless as simple, everyday ingredients.

This is why I think that all tobacco endorsing commercials and films should be taken off of everyday TV channels and that movies that contain smoking or glamorize such actions as smoking should be rated at least PG 13, if not higher.

Smoking is deadly and should not be treated as anything but that. Children and teens should be aware of all of the dangers and risks of smoking or chewing tobacco and the media should not have the right to advertise or romanticize it. There are 4.8 million deaths worldwide from smoking each year. Where’s the romance in that?