Kids & Smoking

Smoking is one of the worst things kids or adults can do to their bodies. Yet 3,000 kids start smoking every single day, and tobacco companies spend over $5 billion every year to make sure that kids start buying tobacco. The companies count on kids to become hooked - and to keep them in business. Despite what the glamorous people in ads say, smoking gives you bad breath, makes you cough, and uses lots of your allowance every week. Yuck! Read this article to find out why kids like you are learning to kick butt.

What Are Smoking and Smokeless Tobacco?
Tobacco (say: tuh-bah-ko) is a plant that can be smoked in cigarettes, pipes, or cigars. It's the same plant that's found in smokeless tobacco, known as dip, chew, snuff, spit, or chewing tobacco. Smokeless tobacco is not lit and inhaled like cigarettes, pipes, and cigars. Instead, smokeless tobacco is placed between the lip and gum and is sucked on inside the mouth.

Tobacco contains nicotine (say: ni-kuh-teen), a chemical that produces a tingly or pleasurable feeling but only for a short time. Also, nicotine is addictive (say: uh-dik-tiv). This means that if you start to use nicotine, your body and mind will become so used to it that you'll need to have it. Anyone who starts smoking is at high risk of becoming addicted to nicotine. In fact, nicotine is said to be even more addictive than heroin or cocaine.

Nicotine is a poisonous drug - it can even be used to kill insects! Dozens of poisonous chemicals in tobacco cause lots of diseases and illnesses, like heart problems and some kinds of cancer. Some of these diseases take years to happen, but others can affect you right away. For example, kids who smoke are much more likely to get infections such as colds and pneumonia.

Why Do Some Kids Smoke or Use Smokeless Tobacco?
About 90% of all tobacco users start before they're 18 years old. People very rarely start to smoke once they are adults. If smoking is so bad for you, then why do kids start smoking? There are no physical reasons to start smoking; people don't need tobacco like they need food, water, sleep, and exercise. Most people say they start smoking because of social reasons.

One of those reasons is to try to make themselves look older. Some kids may think that smoking or chewing tobacco makes them look more hip or glamorous, like a movie star or a famous baseball player. Not! Actually, smoking does make you appear older if stained teeth and wrinkled skin are the look you're going for.

Another reason some kids start using tobacco is to seem cool in front of their friends. Sometimes it may seem like everyone is using tobacco, so it can't be that bad, right? Wrong! Only half of all 8th graders know how poisonous and dangerous tobacco is. Kids like you can help them to get a clue! Some kids say that smoking helps them to relax, but smoking actually raises your blood pressure and makes your heart beat faster!

Other kids may think it's OK to smoke because other people in their family do. If you ask your mom, dad, uncle, or aunt about their tobacco use, chances are they will tell you not to start - and that they wish very, very much that they could quit. It's so much easier to not start smoking than to try to quit.

What Happens When a Kid Tries Smoking or Smokeless Tobacco?
No one likes smoking or chew at first. Your body is smart, and it knows when it's being poisoned. When people try smoking for the first time, they often cough a lot and feel pain or burning in their throat and lungs. This is your lungs' way of trying to protect you and telling you to keep smoke out of them. Also, many people report that they feel sick to their stomach or even throw up to try to get the poison out of their system. If chewing tobacco is accidentally swallowed, some kids may be sick for hours!

Why Are Smoking and Smokeless Tobacco So Bad for You?
Cigarettes and smokeless tobacco are the number-one killers of Americans every year. Each time you light up, it damages your heart, lungs, and brain. And the longer you smoke, the worse the damage becomes. Along with bad breath and stinky hair and clothes, using tobacco makes it harder to run and to play sports. It also makes it more difficult for blood to move around in the body, so smokers often feel sluggish, tired, and cranky, and they can't think as quickly as their friends.

Using tobacco eats up a lot money, with cigarettes costing around Rs. 15- 60 per pack! For those who smoke a pack a day, it adds up to over Rs. 6000 to Rs. 20000 per year. That's a lot of CDs, games, clothes, and books! And because buying cigarettes is illegal for anyone under 18, kids are breaking the law every time they smoke. Kids who smoke are also more likely to get in trouble at school and get lower grades.

Because getting addicted to nicotine can happen so quickly, a kid might start lying and making excuses to leave home or school to go smoke or chew or tobacco. Kids may have to lie to their friends or their parents about where they go, what they do, and how they spend their money. And if you smoke, friends who don't use tobacco may not want to be around you anymore.

Is tobacco worth all this trouble?
How Can I Tell if My Friend Is Smoking or Using Smokeless Tobacco?
Your nose knows. People who use tobacco smell like dirty ashtrays. They have less money to spend on fun stuff like games and movies. And your friends who smoke probably can't keep up with you or the rest of the soccer team like they used to. Also, a friend who smokes may end up getting you in trouble by stealing cigarettes from a parent or a store. They may be cranky, moody, and not as much fun to play with.

What Can I Do to Help?
If you think you know a kid who is using tobacco, you could have him read articles like this. Teach him how dangerous smoking can be and how difficult it is to quit later in life.

· You could tell your friend that you don't want him to become addicted to cigarettes. Not only is nicotine a drug, but kids who smoke are more likely to become drinkers and use other drugs like marijuana or cocaine.
· You could tell your friend that you avoid smoking so you can do your best on the sports field and earn good grades.
· Remind your friend that smoking isn't cool, and assure him that you - and his other true friends - will stick by him even if he stops smoking or using chewing tobacco.

If you have a friend who wants to quit, make sure he talks to a trusted adult, like a guidance counselor or doctor. An adult can help your friend kick the habit for good.

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