True Terrors of Teen Smoking

True Terrors of Teen Smoking

Last July I was out walking around Bartlett with my friend. We were going to the store, along the way a kid from school approached us asking if we wanted to smoke. We instantly told him "no", and he proceeded to ask one more time. As my friend and I turned our backs and walked away I thought to myself, "Wow, if that just happened to me teenagers everywhere must be influenced to start smoking." The factors that influence teenagers to start smoking are the people involved in their lives, self-esteem issues, and easy accessibility to cigarettes. Parents can take a more active roll in their child's life to prevent them from smoking.

Causes and self-esteem issues of teen smoking

To start, many things factor into the influences of teen smoking. Easy accessibility to cigarettes is a major cause.

"We found that if you get kids to answer just two simple questions - - 'Would it be easy for you to get a cigarette?' and 'do you have friends who smoke?' - - you can identify those who are at high risk of becoming regular smokers, saying yes to either should raise a red flag and prompt doctors and others to talk with parents and kids about how to avoid smoking ("Access to Cigarettes..." NP)."

Teens tend to smoke particularly if their parents, or friends smoke, and if they have easy access to a cigarette (NP). Doubeni and colleagues published: all students who agreed with the statement, "It would be easy for me to get a cigarette", acknowledge having a friend who smokes, a parent who smokes, or both (NP). Another cause and effect of smoking is low self-esteem and depression.