Harmful Effects of Teen Smoking

Essay by ranma237College, UndergraduateB+, February 2007

download word file, 6 pages 4.6

Downloaded 82 times

Have you ever observed a smoker enjoying the momentary pleasure of nicotine contained in each needed cigarette? He would probably inhale slowly and allow the smoke to travel down his windpipe. Unfortunately, along with each cigarette is the need for another cigarette, thus furthering the addiction uncontrollably. As his lungs are filling with nicotine, his bloodstream is carrying nicotine throughout his body systems, adversely affecting the heart and brain.

In spite of all the health warnings, teenagers continue to get hooked on tobacco even though they all know that it's bad for them. Why do teens start to smoke? Teens find acceptance by peers if they smoke too. They often use cigarette smoking to avoid the pressures of everyday living. Eventually, they tend to lose their ability to learn how to cope effectively. This report examines the harmful effects of cigarette smoking on various organ systems and elaborates the notion that a few years of exposure to smoking will have lasting adverse consequences.

Greater awareness and deeper knowledge of the harmful effects of cigarette smoking can discourage young people from taking up this deadly habit by appealing to their common sense and better judgment, thereby allowing them to choose not to smoke.

The use of cigarette smoking is a major aspect of our society. Smoking is used in socializing, relaxing, and even entertaining. According to the president of Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, "Ninety percent of all the smokers began as teenagers or younger" ( MTGUS).They also feel invincible or that they can stop at anytime. However, life as a smoker is like a life of addiction. It is just difficult to quit. Few people do quit but only through extreme effort. And even those who quit are fighting to stay that way for the rest of their lives. Seventy...