The Dangers of Teenage Smoking: Causes and Cessation

Introduction

Smoking represents one of the most serious and preventable public health threats facing young people today. This paper examines the dangers of teenage smoking, focusing specifically on how teenagers begin smoking and what can be done to help them quit.

Health Hazards of Teenage Smoking

The health hazards of smoking are well-known and thoroughly documented. As of 1992, over 400,000 people died each year from complications related to smoking, including lung and throat cancer, stroke, and heart disease. That number has only grown since then. Additionally, several studies have shown that starting to smoke as a teenager has the potential to permanently damage lung tissue.

A study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute found that smoking during the teenage years causes dramatic and lifelong DNA damage in the lungs. Young smokers may be at a permanently higher risk of developing lung cancer, even if they later quit (Editors).

Why Teenagers Start Smoking

Teenagers begin smoking for a variety of reasons, including peer pressure and a concerted effort by advertisers to acquire and retain young smokers. Perhaps the greatest threat to young people considering smoking is peer pressure, which can be considerable. Some teens consider it "cool" to smoke; others believe it makes them appear older or more sophisticated. "They start smoking because they think it will give them a better image — being cooler, more attractive, or more popular. Because of their low self-image, they don't have the confidence to say no when a cigarette is offered to them" (Breznicky et al.).

Another contributing factor is whether a teenager's parents smoke. Children of smokers are more likely to smoke than children of non-smoking parents. As Brook explains:

"According to this conception, parent drug-prone personality attributes are related to difficulty in the parent-child bond; that relation, in turn, is associated with the youngster's developing attributes conducive to drug use. Drug-prone personality characteristics are associated with selecting friends who use drugs, which, in turn, is related to the youngster's tobacco use" (Brook 173).

Cigarette advertising also puts significant pressure on young people to smoke. Advertisements depict smoking as cool and desirable — something teens need to do in order to fit in. Cigarette manufacturers, whether they acknowledge it or not, depend on new generations of smokers to replace older ones who quit or die from smoking-related illness. Although advertising specifically targeting teens has been curtailed in recent years, campaigns such as "Joe Camel" have still coerced millions of young people into trying cigarettes.

Adding to this pressure is the portrayal of smoking in popular films. A study of admired films published in the journal Tobacco Control "found that 65% of [top stars] smoked on screen at least once and 42% portrayed smoking as an essential character trait in one or more films. Three film stars — Leonardo DiCaprio, Sharon Stone, and John Travolta — smoked in three or more films" (Boseley).

Conclusion

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Brook, Judith S. "Cigarette Smoking in Young Adults: Childhood and Adolescent Personality, Familial, and Peer Antecedents." Journal of Genetic Psychology 158.2 (1997): 172–188.

Douglas, Stratford. "The Duration of the Smoking Habit." Economic Inquiry XXXVI.1 (1998): 49–64.

Editors. "Teenage Smoking Causes Permanent Lung Damage." HealthAtoZ.com. 16 Nov. 1999. 20 Oct. 2002.

Hammerle, Nancy. Private Choices, Social Costs, and Public Policy: An Economic Analysis of Public Health Issues. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers, 1992.

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