According to these 2 article many teens decide to smoke because of peer pressure and looking cool. According to this recent article that was in the Detroit News about an Edsel Ford High School student they asked him why he started smoking and he said he didn t no he just did. All most every article I came across said that Joe Camel was to blame but researchers aren t sure if that s still the case. I was reported by a nation wide survey from the University of Michigan that about 20% of 13-14 year olds and 31 % of high school seniors smoke. The kid that the 2 reports interview said smoking It s cool, and something to do . This is proof that what my hypothesis says is true. Another student said that his uncle taught him how to smoke. Even though most of the teens said they would quit but not yet which means that most have already become addicted. The article also said that many teen girls begin to smoke as a method of losing weight. According to Dr. Kathryn Wright who said many things in this article that role models are a very important to teens. Basically she said if parents smoke their kids most likely will to, to feel more grown up and cool around others. Many teens, according to this article, are said to smoke because others do it and makes their personal appearance to others look better. Many of the teens said they could quit smoking if they really tried to. The funny thing is that all of the teens know what smoking does to there health but they continue to smoke to impress others around them.

These next 2 article explain why teens smoke and the dangers that could happen to them in the future if they continue to smoke. One of the woman said I experimented with smoking at 15 wanting to rebel against my parents, look cool and hang with the in crowd. She admitted if she new what smoking did to people she wouldn t have started in the first place. She blamed the tobacco companies for telling people that we were cool and grown-up . A 17 year old said that all kids are smoking and it s the thing to do. She tells her friend that they should quit but they just tell her that they re going to die anyways. She says that a lot of it has to do with peer pressure and the stresses of being a teen. In Colorado there is a all time high in teenage smoking. There was a 50% increase in smoking in Colorado most of them teens. Another student said that there is probably more smokers than we think they just won t admit to it. Another said that if she didn t smoke then her friends would tease her and tell her that she is scared of looking cool. The American Lung association said that nicotine is more addictive than alcohol or cocaine and is considered a gateway drug. Tobacco does affect teens and children. That the majority of smokers have started by the age of 16. Many blame that advertising influences children to smoke. Many do not no the really reason why teens smoke according to my information they say they just do.