Smoking in teenagers appears to be disrupting the educational process of high school and college students. That is the reason why I chose to research on this topic so as to unearth the underlying trends and impacts. Teen smoking has become a public health problem that is claiming many lives in the United States of America and the whole world over. It has also become one of the most challenging social issues in the education system. Public health records show that cigarette smoking among high school students has been increasing in an alarming rate (Chaloupka & Ross 2001). Therefore, this research paper will investigate teenage smoking and give recommendations that may decrease smoking rates among the teenagers.
Smoking Teenagers
Patrick Kimuyu
Introduction
Smoking in teenagers appears to be disrupting the educational process of high school and college students. That is the reason why I chose to research on this topic so as to unearth the underlying trends and impacts. Teen smoking has become a public health problem that is claiming many lives in the United States of America and the whole world over. It has also become one of the most challenging social issues in the education system. Public health records show that cigarette smoking among high school students has been increasing in an alarming rate (Chaloupka & Ross 2001). Therefore, this research paper will investigate teenage smoking and give recommendations that may decrease smoking rates among the teenagers.
Thesis Statement
Teenage smoking causes adverse impacts.
Causes of Teen Smoking
Recent surveys indicate that teen smoking is caused by a number of factors. Some of the principal causes of teen smoking include peer pressure, media influence and family issues.
Peer Pressure
According to the survey reports by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, peer pressure serves as the principal cause of teenage smoking. Teen smoking statistics show that about 4,000 teenagers attempt smoking daily owing to the influence of their teens who are smokers (Chaloupka & Ross 2001). The principal reason for this aspect is because; teens are fond of aping behaviors of their peers. Therefore, non-smokers are highly influenced by their smoking peers.
Media Influence
Media influence serves as the second influential factor that lures teenagers into tobacco smoking. Most tobacco processing companies post their advertisements on Televisions and the press media. Therefore, exposure of teenagers to these advertisements causes them to develop the desire for taking cigarettes. In addition, celebrities are displayed on Televisions and videos while smoking cigarettes, and this causes teenagers to ape such harmful lifestyles. Most people associate cigars with a high social esteem because some people believe that cigarette serves as a social status symbol.
Family Influence
Moreover, teen smoking has always been associated to family influence especially when the teen’s parents smoke cigarette. Teenagers copy much of their behavior from their parents and; therefore, teenagers who are born of parents who smoke are more likely to develop smoking habits than those born of non-smokers. In addition, parental guidance over social and health issues plays a principal role in determining the teenagers’ social behavior. For instance, there has been a popular claim that some mothers advise their girls to smoke cigarettes as an easier way of losing body weight. Cohen et al (2002) state “distorted perceptions of body weight among some adolescent females may lead them to try smoking as a method of weight control” (p. 362).
Impacts of Smoking on Teenagers
Teenage smoking has been found to cause profound impacts on teenagers. For instance, tobacco smoking has been identified to cause fatal health problems to smokers. Additionally, teenage smoking causes significant impacts to the environment especially through environmental pollution. However, it is worth noting that teenage smoking causes a significant influence in one’s adult life because most adult smokers have been found to have started smoking during their youthful stages.
Health Impact
Cigarette smoking cause adverse health impacts in teenagers because tobacco smoke contains harmful components that are associated with cancer and mental illnesses. For instance, lung cancer and throat cancer have been found to be related to cigarette smoking.
Moreover, excessive smoking causes atherosclerosis: thus, leading to the onset of a number of cardiovascular health conditions. Hypertension and stroke are the most common
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- Quote paper
- Patrick Kimuyu (Author), 2018, Teenage Smoking. A Short Analysis, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/388292