Teen smoking has always been a factor in America, especially during High School. That is when teens are most likely to pick up the habit (Teen Smokers PG 13). We are constantly around people that smoke and usually offered cigarettes when they do smoke. If smoking is so bad for you then why do so many teens smoke? Because they don't know how bad it is for them. In this essay there will be facts presented that may help change ones mind about lighting up their next cigarette, teen or adult.

If smoking is so bad for you then why do so many teens smoke? The main reason is peer pressure. Seven out of Ten teens said that if one of their friends offered them a cigarette then they would smoke it (Womanize Health Ma). This is called peer pressure most teens have already been through one form or another of Peer pressure weather it me to do drugs or cigarettes its all the same.

Another reason smoking is bad for you is that it was proven in 1996 that smoking may cause depression among teens."The prevention and reduction of cigarette smoking by adolescents could be an important intervention against depression, according to a National Research Council survey"(The Medical Post). A national research council telephoned almost eight thousand teen s thrower the United States. Their studies showed that teen smokers are more likely to develop depression syndromes than teens that have never smoked. The study also showed the females are 15.6% more likely to develop depression syndromes from smoking than males.

A recent study conducted by (Canada Social Trends) shows that teen smoking (ages 10-19) has increased 24% in the last 4 years. One reason for this increase is that it is easier to get cigarettes now then it was four years ago. Fake IDs are getting harder to spot, and most store managers and presidents do not want to spend the time or money for their employees to take a Fake ID spotting class which would make it easier for store clerics to spot fake IDs. One step that has been taken the "We card" program which allows stores to put up signs next to the registers that say "No ID, No problem, No cigarettes". This is just one of their sayings, they have a few more signs that are worded differently but have the same meaning.

Some people wonder what are the long-term effects of smoking. A recent study conducted by People Magazine shows that smoking takes off one year of your life for every 10 years a smoker smokes (assuming the average smoker consumes 10 cigarettes per day). This is bad news for people over 60, it means they have already taken 6 years or more off of their life depending on how much they have smoked over their years.

What can you do to prevent your teen from smoking? The most common answer is to talk to them about it, but what if you don't have the information you need to talk to your teen about it or you don't know what to say. There are a few sources that I will list at the end of this document so that you can help your teen or if you are a teen, you can help yourself by visiting these Webster. Some of them have pictures of what lungs look like after 40+ years of smoking. Others just give facts and information on teen smoking.