Smoking

Smoking or Living

"Smoking is the number-one preventable cause of death in the United States." It can lead to many things such as bad skin, bad breath, bad-smelling hair and clothes, poor athletic performance, big risk of injury, and an even greater risk of illnesses. ("How Can I Quit Smoking?" 1, 2) Everyday, Anthony, who is a sophomore in high school and a star athlete, often wonders whether or not he should try smoking. After all, everyone else is doing it, so why not try it? So he asks for a cigarette from some guy, he does not like it at first, but his favorite football player smokes and Anthony thinks he is cool. So Anthony does it anyway at school everyone looks up to him because he is popular and a great athlete. However, when people found out what he started doing to be cool they did not really think much of it, but they started to notice a few things about his performance on the field. Many people saw that Anthony was becoming more and more fatigued, his overall performance was not very good, and he lacked his usual energy.

"Once you start, it is hard to stop. Smoking is a hard habit to break because

tobacco contains nicotine, which is very addictive. Like heroin and other

addictive drugs, the body and mind quickly become so used to the nicotine in

cigarettes that a person needs to have it just to feel normal. Statistics show

that about nine out of ten tobacco users start before they are eighteen years

old." ("Smoking" 1)

Some teens start smoking because they think it makes them look older or it helps them relax, they just want to be rebellious, they do it because their friends do it, and some say that it just gives them something to do. Some people, especially girls, start smoking because they think it might help them keep their weight down. The illnesses that smoking can cause, like lung cancer and diseases, do cause weight loss. Another reason people start smoking is because members of their family do. Most adults who started smoking when they were in their teens never expected to become addicted; that is why people say it is so much easier to not start smoking at all. ("Smoking" 2) "Actually, smoking is a cause of stress." (Spitzer)

"Two main types of smokeless tobacco in the United States are chewing

tobacco and snuff. Chewing tobacco comes in the form of loose leaf, plug, or

twist. Snuff is finely ground tobacco that can be dry, moist, or in tea bag-like

pouches. Although some forms of snuff can be used by sniffing or inhaling

into the nose, most smokeless tobacco users place the product in their cheek or

between their gum and cheek." ("Smokeless Tobacco" 1)

Chewers then suck on the tobacco and spit out the juices, which is why tobacco is often referred to as spit tobacco. Smokeless tobacco is a significant health risk and is not a safe substitute for smoking cigarettes. ("Smokeless Tobacco"1) Three main types of cigars in the United States are large cigars, cigarillos, and little cigars. Cigar use has increased a lot during the 1990's compared to the previous years. "Cigars contain the same toxic and carcinogenic compounds found in cigarettes and are not a safe alternative to cigarettes." (Cigars" 1)

"Secondhand smoke, also known as environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), is a

mixture of the smoke given off by the burning end of tobacco products

(sidestream smoke) and the smoke exhaled by smokers (mainstream