Smoking - The Risks and Effects

Types of Drugs - Smoking

Wow! Look at them smoking - they are so cool, grown-up and sophisticated! YEAH RIGHT! Smoking is not attractive no matter which way you look at it. Yes, we understand that a lot of you teenagers do it to fit in - and that you may not even like it - but is fitting in and looking cool worth risking getting cancer? Take it from someone who has been there - my friends all smoked in their teenage years to look cool - then they got addicted and now as young adults they are trying to quit - they wish they had never started! It is hard to understand this for most teens, especially when it seems like everyone smokes and the media glamorizes it constantly, but here are some reasons why you may want to think twice before you take that puff.

Smoking is attractive - NOT!
For the teen who is thinking about starting to smoke - they may not be too concerned with the addictive part of smoking - many think they will stop before it gets that far. BUT, you should also be aware that although you may not be concerned about addiction there are nasty side effects for people that just smoked their first cigarette ever.

For instance, smokers stink. Literally. The smell of tobacco lingers for a long time on your hair, your clothes, and your breath. Sniff a dirty ashtray to see what a smoker smells like to non-smokers.

Smoking is expensive. If you buy one pack of smokes a day at $4.00 a pack, you will spend $1500 on smoking alone. Think of all the stuff that you could do and buy with $1500! Cigarettes are also much more expensive than that in many places. If you live in an area where cigarettes are $6.00 a pack, then smoking a pack a day will cost you about $2,300 a year!
Smokers don't look good - not at all like the attractive people you see in ads. Their teeth become yellow, and it's hard to get the stains removed. Smokers also get many more wrinkles than non-smokers.

In fact, each cigarette contains thousands of chemicals that are harmful to the body. When you are smoking you are breathing into your body these chemicals (EWWW!): cyanide, benzene, formaldehyde, methanol (wood alcohol), acetylene, ammonia.

Sports are an important part of many teens' lives. Smokers find it hard to compete because of the physical effects of smoking: rapid heartbeat, decreased circulation, and shortness of breath. Smokers are also more likely to miss a big game because they get more colds, flu, bronchitis, and pneumonia.

It's often difficult to think several years ahead for teenagers. The reality is that each time you smoke a cigarette, it is costing you 5 to 20 minutes of your life. It puts you at much greater risk for heart disease, cancer, and emphysema. "In fact, one out of every three smokers will die a smoking-related death - losing about 14 years of his/her life," says Neil Izenberg, MD.

Recent studies have also shown that teen guys who smoke 2 packs a day could experience erectile dysfunction or impotence by the time they turn 30.
Haven't convinced you yet? Read on for some disturbing facts!