Prevent Smoking Early
Introduction
One of the most dangerous habits anyone can have is smoking. For most adults this habit begins at a young age, usually during adolescence. According to a recent study, over 90% of students who smoke cigarettes in college will continue to smoke up to four years after graduating. If we can prevent someone from smoking during adolescence, it’s likely they won’t smoke when they’re older.
Physical Danger
According to Quit Smoking Support, smoking kills over 400,000 people a year—that’s more than AIDS, murder, suicide, drug overdose, and fires combined. One of the most harmful effects smoking can have on someone is the physical damage it does to the body. Smoking can damage and cause cancer in many vital organs and places of the body. Smoking triples your rate of dying from heart disease. It is also involved in 85% of all lung cancer victims. Smoking causes cancer of the lips, tongue, mouth, larynx, esophagus, pelvis, stomach and cervix. Bottom line: Smoking has the potential to cause serious injury or death.
Dependence
Smoking causes addiction. There are over 1000 chemicals in each cigarette, but it is mainly nicotine that is most responsible for addiction. Some people addicted to cigarettes claim they only smoke them for the “pleasurable effect.” In actuality, that “pleasurable effect” is the body’s relief of nicotine withdrawal. Nicotine stimulates the central nervous system, which is a characteristic it shares with drugs like cocaine and heroin.
Impact on society
Second hand smoke occurs when the exhaled smoke from one person’s cigarette is inhaled by other people. It is estimated that over 53,000 people die each year from second hand smoke. Second hand smoke is the number one reason why the government has introduced smoking bans. Some states have passed laws that prevent smoking in most public places including bars, restaurants, and workplaces. Some smokers responded defensively to these bans claiming that they not only place limitations on where they can smoke, but also on their rights as citizens.
Prevention
Within the context of prevention, it’s important for a teenager to understand why some people start smoking in the first place.
What is smoking the product of?
· A Teenager’s Lifestyle— Smoking can sometimes spawn from stress. It’s important to take time and relax every once in a while and understand that cigarettes are not the answer to stress. If you feel like you need a cigarette at the end of each day you may want to contact a doctor immediately.
· Peer Pressure— If your friends or the people around you smoke, you're more likely to start smoking yourself. In fact, nonsmokers who marry smokers are twice as likely to get cancer
· Social Framework— If you start smoking it's also important to take a look at where you're smoking. Some people claim that they only smoke at parties. It’s important to understand that smoking only at parties can be just as dangerous as only smoking when you’re stressed.
How Do I Quit?
There are many different types of over the counter drugs including pills, gum, and patches that can slowly help you stop smoking. Some people have even tried hypnosis. There are also groups and clinics you can contact to help quit smoking.
The most important thing to remember is it’s never too late to start quitting! After one year of quitting your risk of heart disease is already cut in half, after five years of quitting you risk of lung cancer is already cut in half, and after 15 years of quitting your risk of heart disease is that of a nonsmoker.
Smoking is the single most preventable cause of premature death. It is often the case that we are products of our own surroundings. For most of us, college will be the time when we leave our childhood surroundings and are forced to adapt to new ones. From these new surroundings we will also be forced to adapt to and create new habits. By not only taking a look at but also by identifying our surroundings (do your friends smoke, do you smoke at parties?) you can prevent smoking as part of your lifestyle before it even starts.
