Teen Smoking Cause and Effects of Teen

Teen Smoking

Cause and Effects of Teen Smoking

For more than a half-century, the deadly effects of cancer smoking in humans has been well-known and scientifically documented. Due to the strong addiction element of cigarettes, a nationwide anti-smoking campaign, meant for full efficiency, soon appeared to be doomed, as smokers continued smoking, despite knowing about the deadly effects of cigarettes.

Slowly, the scientific community was able to effectively bring a halt to the legal selling of nicotine products to children under the age of 18. For years after the initial banning of adolescent tobacco use, these children were still targeted for advertisement as the incoming generation of smoking adults, a crucial demographic for cigarette companies. The causes of teen smoking include targeted advertisement by tobacco companies and the ever-present problem of peer pressure, and the negative effects of teenage tobacco use are early symptoms of lung disease, cancer, and lifelong addiction.

American presents to the world a very conservative and very sheltered medium in many respects. From personal experience, I can attest to the fact that societies in Europe, Latin America, and Africa are much more fluid with age limits. For instance, in some of these societies, one can observe a teen smoker or drinker and not think very much of it.

Yet no matter what society says, cigarettes can kill and unfortunately many do not seem to grasp this concept, especially in light of the addictive nature of cigarettes, a fact that tobacco companies often seem to overlook, in search for profit. Teens are an important age group for tobacco companies because of the ever present need to gain new lifelong smokers to replace those that die each year, and peer pressure and the addictive properties of tobacco do nothing to diminish this aspect.

Young people living in households where adults smoke are, furthermore, at a greater risk for tobacco use. This problem arises due to the fact that, psychologically, a child will think it is all right to smoke, due to the fact that his or her role models, often his parents or close relatives, also smoke. This is especially acute if the adult smokes around the child.

The above-mentioned causes as to why teens smoke are very serious. But what is more serious are the consequences. For one, smokers are at greater risk of contracting tobacco related diseases, especially if the smoker was young when the habit-forming drug was first utilized. This means that teenagers are especially prone to later in life problems like lung cancer, throat cancer, heart disease, and other health issues.

The younger one begins to smoke, the more difficult it will be to quit smoking, due to the brain's maturing activities in teens and how tobacco affects how the brain grows. Nicotine patches and gum are two alternatives to the deadly carcinogens in cigarette smoke, but they do not work for everyone, and are often expensive and unsatisfactory to the smoker.