Teenage Smoking A growing problem in today's society is the likely hood that if you are between the ages of 13-19, you are more than likely to smoke, or start smoking. Smoking has several negative aspects that most teens that do smoke do not know about, for example the obvious, lung cancer. Lung cancer, however is not the only problem that comes from smoking. Depression falls into this category as well psychiatric problems are amongst many of the problems that may occur as an effect of cigarette smoking. Currently, there 26%-36% of teenagers who smoke cigarettes. (Goodman, 748) This means that out of every 25 teens you know or meet 8 of them are smokers. While conducting a quiz (consisting of six true and false questions) I found that 18 out the 20 people smoke cigarettes. For whatever reason it may be; peer pressure, wanting to look cool, to fit in or just copying their parents, teens who first try smoking and continue "for just a little while" are most likely to become lifetime smokers (depending on how young they start).
English: Smoking any tobacco product, %, Females
Smoking lung cancer
High rates of lung cancer (indicated in this map b...The younger they (teens) are when they start, the more damage they cause (to themselves).
However, peer pressure is one of the main reasons teens start smoking. For example, if your best friend smokes you are 4 times as likely to start smoking. (Scholastic Action, 20) Still, more questions come to mind when trying to evaluate why teenagers or the reasons they start to start to smoke cigarettes. For example, how do young adults get a hold of or buy cigarettes? Keeping adolescents from smoking is a focal issue in tobacco control. The adolescent access laws make it illegal to sell cigarettes to a minor, thus increasing cigarette excise taxes. (Emery, Gilpin, White, & Pierce; 1) However, some merchants...