The Consequences of Teen Smoking

The Consequences of Teen Smoking

People across the United States smoke nicotine every single day. They inhale this drug through various products offered such as cigarettes or cigars, and now electronic cigarettes. The nicotine from the smoke reaches their brain in only ten seconds. Nicotine is what makes this drug so addicting to the user. However, this euphonium has a high price to pay, and in most cases, it is not just the user of the drug that suffers the consequences.

If one-person smokes, the whole building smokes, regardless of whether they are the one holding the cigarette or even in the same apartment. In a multi-family building, the families with non-smokers are affected just as much as the ones that have smokers in them. Second-hand smoke puts those people at risk for so many things. Children and adults alike are then at risk for a list of chronic and fatal diseases even if you do not think second-hand smoke will give you and your loved ones the many diseases. You know that smoking can cause many types of cancer as well, right? Now you do not want to give someone you love cancer, do you?

Have you ever considered just what exactly is in cigarette smoke? If not, you really should stop to think about it. Over 4000 chemical compounds are found in cigarette smoke. The EPA classified 43 of those chemicals as carcinogens. Many of the substances in the smoke are poisonous to the human body. For example, carbon monoxide can be found in cigarette smoke, and yet we have carbon monoxide detectors in our homes to keep us safe from this deadly chemical. A high amount of tar is also found in cigarette smoke. If that doesn't open your eyes, this next fact will. Lots of the chemicals found in cigarette smoke are the same ones found in rat poison and car exhaust.

 Now I would like to stress how this is ruining our future. Children are the next generation, and they are the ones who will someday run this country. We have people in society who smoke around these children and others every single day with no consequence. Everyone is susceptible to problems caused by smoking; however, infants are more vulnerable than most. Second-hand smoke sends 7,500 to 15,000 infants to the hospital every year for respiratory issues that could have easily been avoided. Those children exposed to the smoke, as well as everyone else, are then that much more likely to develop asthma and other respiratory problems in their lifetime. These children could die from the diseases they obtained from the smoke that they were forced to inhale.