Tobacco

 

Use of tobacco products—and smoking in particular—has terrible and well-documented physical effects, including:

 

• Heart disease, stroke, emphysema, and various cancers
• Increased risk of infections such as emphysema, bronchitis, and sinusitis
• Yellow teeth, wrinkled skin
• Loss of bone density
• Reduced athletic ability
• Reduced lung function
• Slower healing time
• Poor blood circulation
• Reduced overall life span
• Greater risk of illnesses like colds and viruses

The risks to a person’s health persist regardless of the form of tobacco—pipe, cigar, electronic cigarette, hookah, chewing tobacco—they all cause health problems to greater and lesser degrees.

 

Given all that is known about the ill effects of smoking, why do people still do it? Because it is highly addictive—possibly more so than heroin or other narcotic drugs. Not only is there a physical addiction to nicotine, but a person builds up habits around smoking that also need to be broken. Most people who try to quit smoking are likely to relapse at some point, but with persistence can eventually kick the habit. Also, most people who want to quit smoking wish they had never started at all, especially given the severity of the first few days’ of withdrawal symptoms, which include irritability, craving, depression, anxiety, cognition and attention deficits, sleep disturbances, and increased appetite.

 

The real key to preventing tobacco addiction then is to avoid starting in the first place. However, this can be harder than it seems, especially for young people, which is when most people start to smoke in the first place. Because young people can be highly susceptible to advertising from cigarette companies, the influence of media images, and peer role models, it’s important for parents to counteract those influences by modeling anti-smoking actions (even if they smoke themselves), such prohibiting smoking in the house, telling their kids they will be disappointed if they smoke, and emphasizing the effects of smoking on personal appearance. For a complete list of actions to help protect kids from becoming smokers, check out this fact sheet from Tobacco Free Kids.

 

For more information about tobacco, nicotine, and cigarettes, check out these links:

 

• The National Institute on Drug Abuse released this report on the addictiveness of nicotine.
• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released these resources and materials for preventing tobacco usage among young people and these statistics about youth tobacco usage.
• The American Cancer Society answers questions about the effects of tobacco and smoking on cancer.
• TeensHealth from Nemours presents articles directed to teens about quitting smoking, smokeless tobacco, secondhand smoke, and more.
• The World Health Organization presents this list of the health effects of smoking on young people (both short- and long-term).

 

These resources are provided for information purposes only and are not intended to replace professional medical, health, or legal advice.   Please consult your doctor, mental health professional or lawyer for advice that is specific to your needs.  SCC, its officers, directors, staff and attorneys hereby disclaim any responsibility for, or any liability resulting from, the use of these resources.