Smoking A Fatal Habit

Smoking, a fatal habit!

“Each day in the United States, approximately 3,000 youngsters between the ages of 12 and 17 try their first cigarette,” writes Naff Clay in his research book. This phrase is shocking for most parents but not for the majority of teenagers. The phrase is for most parents a shocking number but not for the majority of teenagers. Teenagers are young and want to have fun. Why do so many young people smoke? Teenagers start smoking because they are curious, bored, and want to brag. The effect of smoking makes us feel pleasure and reward, which is stimulated by a neurotransmitter called dopamine. Most addictive drugs increase the dopamine level for a little while and then people seek more nicotine. Teenagers think how can smoking be bad if it makes them feel good. to smoke.[you should end the sentence where I put the period] Every person is different and it can take up to [take “up to” out] weeks, months, or years until somebody becomes addicted. A lot of parents make it easy for teens to get cigarettes especially if they smoke themselves. They leave packages and butts of cigarettes lying around the house and teens think it is okay to smoke. Parents are supposed to be role models and they should not show how to destroy their health. Today’s teenage smokers are tomorrows smokers because most adolescent smokers continue for many years; nearly half of young adults who smoke are likely to still be smoking at the age of sixty. Adolescent should not start to smoke at all because of many reasons.

First I want teenagers to think about the financial reasons why they should not start smoking. A cigarette package is more expensive than it has ever been before. A statistic from the department of health and human services shows that the average taxes increased moderately between the years 1970 and 2000, and the average cost per pack sharply increased. In 1970 a pack of cigarettes cost around thirty eight cents compared to three dollars and sixteen cents in 2000, sales taxes not included. In

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the state of Washington a pack cost around five dollars. Considering that after somebody started to smoke, he or she will eventually get addicted and will need more and more cigarettes to feel satisfied. Let’s say only three packages a week which makes roughly sixty dollars a month. A lot of money for a teenager and it will cost more after a while. If teenagers smoke they have to spend most of their pocket money on cigarettes and will have to abstain from other wants like nice clothes or music equipment. Some teenagers will try to work to make some extra money but some will start stealing and will eventually get in a lot of trouble.

Second I want to write about the social reasons an adolescent should not smoke. Smoking [take out “does”] not only kill smokers but also other people. Smokers bring nonsmokers into danger with second-hand smoke. Scientific data shows that exposure to secondhand smoke can cause death, disease and disability. The U.S. Environment Protection Agency estimates that three thousand nonsmokers a year die from lung cancer. The worst effects of passive smoke are during a child’s first five years. Children living in a household with smokers have more buildup of fluid in their ear, which is a sign of chronic middle ear disease. Children are more likely to smoke as teenagers if their parents were smokers. Worries can begin in the pregnancy. Also smoke itself can not reach the fetus, but dangerous ingredients in tobacco smoke can. Born babies [change to “Babies born”]from smoking parents tend to have weaker lungs. Secondhand smoke is responsible for three hundred thousand lung illnesses, such as pneumonia and bronchitis. Infants and young children are highly susceptible to those illnesses. Babies and small children are defenseless to the effects of smoke because their lungs are still developing. Infants exposed to tobacco smoke suffer a higher rate of sudden infant death syndrome, according to the U.S. surgeon general.

Also a study from the University of California AT Davis Medical Center shows that cigarettes are a leading cause of fire disaster and death. Thirty percent of fire death alone in the United States is caused by smoking. Each year cigarette butts, lighters, and matches that fall into the hands of young

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children create a possible source of ignition.

Third I want to write about the health reasons why teenagers should not start in the first place. Smoking can cause some less harmful symptoms like discolored and loose teeth, as well as less sense of smell, sore throat, and bad breath. Hair starts to smell and stain, fingers show tar-stains. The skin ages faster because smoking robs the skin of collagen, a material which keeps the skin elastic. Consequently wrinkles show up at a younger age.

Within one minute of smoking the heart begins to rise and after ten minutes it increases by as much as thirty percent. After smoking has stopped, the rate will return to normal. Only one cigarette can lower the temperature in hands and feet because it constricts the smaller vessels in your body, which decreases the blood flow. Nonsmokers are more fit than a smoker because carbon monoxide from tobacco smoke substitutes some of the oxygen in the blood. Physical activity is much harder for smokers and the shortness of breath