According to a report from the American Heart Association, an estimated 24.8 million men or 23.1 percent of the population and 21.1 million women or 18.3 percent of the population are smokers.
The American Lung Association, on their part, estimates that every minute 4,800 teens will take their first drag off a cigarette.
“Of those four thousand eight hundred, about two thousand will go on to be chain smokers,” the report states.
It added “about 80 percent of adult chain smokers started as teenagers”.
Are you a smoker who is not aware of the effects of smoking? Have you ignored the warnings posted by Public Health around the island about the ill-effects of smoking? Do you take for granted the anti-smoking flyers you see at the counselor’s office in your school?
If you answer yes to all of the questions above, then read on.
Puffing to your grave
Public Health said smoking can reduce your life by 10 years or more.
Flyers disseminated at the Commonwealth Health Center and in schools states the following as effects of nicotine found in cigarettes:
• Bad skin. Because smoking restricts blood vessels, it can prevent oxygen and nutrients from getting to the skin — which is why smokers often appear pale and unhealthy. An Italian study also linked smoking to an increased risk of getting a type of skin rash called psoriasis.
• Bad breath. Cigarettes leave smokers with a condition called halitosis, or persistent bad breath.
• Bad-smelling clothes and hair. The smell of stale smoke tends to linger — not just on people’s clothing, but on their hair, furniture, and cars. And it’s often hard to get the smell of smoke out.
• Reduced athletic performance. People who smoke usually can’t compete with nonsmoking peers because the physical effects of smoking (like rapid heartbeat, decreased circulation, and shortness of breath) impair sports performance.
• Greater risk of injury and slower healing time. Smoking affects the body’s ability to produce collagen, so common sports injuries, such as damage to tendons and ligaments will heal more slowly in smokers than nonsmokers.
• Increased risk of illness. Studies show that smokers get more colds, flu, bronchitis, and pneumonia than nonsmokers. And people with certain health conditions, like asthma, become more sick if they smoke (and often if they’re just around people who smoke). Because teens who smoke as a way to manage weight often light up instead of eating, their bodies lack the nutrients they need to grow, develop, and fight off illness properly.
Are you a smoker? Are you one of these teen smokers, who by age of 40 or younger will acquire lung cancer?
How old are you when you first tasted that chocolate or mint flavor of Doral… Marlboro… Black Bat… Hope?
For parents
What are the reasons why teenagers smoke and what are the factors that affect their decision to try smoking? As a parent or guardian of a teen smoker, have you tried talking to your kids about smoking?
Some teens interviewed by this reporter said smoking helps them cope with teenage life.
Smoking relieves tension and stress I encounter everyday, an 18 year old college student who declined to be identified said.
He added most of his friends smoke and chew betel nut.
Meanwhile, Oscar, a 16 year old from Garapan said he started smoking when he was 13.
He said he has access to cigarettes because his parents are both smokers.
Asked if he is aware of the dangers of smoking, he replied “I will worry about lung cancer if I already have it.”
Three of his friends below the age of 18 also admitted smoking “due to pressure at home and in school.”
“Betel nut and cigarette are ordinary things you could ask for from a friend,” one of them said.
He added that since his parents are also smoker, “it is not an issue at home.”
These are just among the few excuses teens have why some of the teens smoke young.
If you are a parent or a guardian of a teenager who smokes, kidshealth.org, an online magazine for teens and their parents recommend that parents be understanding and supportive of helping their kids quit smoking than be angry at them.
“Sometimes even the best foundation isn’t enough to stop kids from experimenting with tobacco,” Dr. Steven Dowshen of kidshealth.org said in his review.
He added “It may be tempting to get angry, but it’s more productive to focus on communicating with your child”.
The following are tips he recommends to parents:
• Resist lecturing or turning your advice into a sermon.
• Uncover what appeals to your child about smoking and talk about it honestly.
• Many times, kids aren’t able to appreciate how their current behaviors can affect their future health. So talk about the immediate downsides to smoking: less money to spend on other pursuits, shortness of breath, bad breath, yellow teeth, and smelly clothes.
• Stick to the smoking rules you’ve set up. And don’t let a child smoke at home to keep the peace.
• If you hear, “I can quit any time I want,” ask your child to show you by quitting cold turkey for a week.
• Try not to nag. Ultimately, quitting is your child’s decision.
* Help your child develop a quitting plan and offer information and resources, and reinforce the decision to quit with praise.
• Stress the natural rewards that come with quitting: freedom from addiction, improved fitness, better athletic performance, and improved appearance.
• Encourage a meeting with your doctor, who can be supportive and may have treatment plans.
Illegal
To address the issue on smoking and to help Public Health in their campaign against the use of tobacco, Gov. Benigno R. Fitial signed a no smoking law on September last year.
The law prohibits smoking in all areas on island, except in private residences, bars, casinos, and departure terminal of airports.
The Smoke-Free Air Act of 2008 also forbids smoking in government facilities, schools, workplace and public places.
A smoker will be fined up to $200 and a completion of a mandatory tobacco prevention course if caught violating the law while the owner of the place where the violation occurred will be fined $500.
His or her business license will also be revoked.
Now that you are aware of the ill-effects of smoking are you still willing to take the risk?
Would you like to pay $200 worth of fine just for a puff?
So before you light that tobacco stick, think twice and make your life longer.
