Yesterday my 16 year old sister and I were discussing our respective schools (college and high school) and there was one thing we could relate to each other on…the surprising number of young people at our schools smoking! It is staggering to me how many young people – including young girls – smoke in this age where we have so much information about the damaging effects of the habit. It is universally accepted that your chances of getting lung cancer is exponentially increased if you are a smoker. With that said though, the National Institute of Health reports that nearly 25% of high school students smoke cigarettes!
I won’t go on a rant about how dangerous this is for young girls (and boys) – mainly because everyone already knows - but I can’t help but ask…why?? We know that our grandparents smoked because it was so wide spread and they did not have the same information we have today. No one knew that smoking caused cancer. Our parents’ generation had some of the information we do but still – not like today. Not only do we have the information today, the information is thrown at us daily at school and at home. If you watch television, chances are that you have seen the countless teen anti-smoking commercials so why is this still such a trend among adolescents?
I can only figure that teens start smoking for the same reasons some use drugs, drive fast cars or drink. When we are teenagers we have this feeling that we are untouchable. We live in the moment with little thought of lasting consequences. It is a time when we test our bodies and our minds in school, sports, socially but also through taking risks. I am all for testing limits while you are young and have the ability and freedom to push yourself but it is just hard for me to understand why something so potent to someone’s health can be so appealing (not to mention – expensive!).
Maybe it is because the effects seem far off or maybe it’s because it’s “cool”. The truth is that I don’t know. I just think it’s tragic that a quarter of my generation will feel the same health effects that smokers before have gone through. So – if you have friends who smoke (which, if numbers don’t lie – you must), encourage them to quit. I know it seems simple but the truth is that the longer someone keeps smoking, the tougher it is to put it out. The only way we can have an effect on this problem is by talking to our peers instead of relying on impersonal ads through television - so do something about it at your school today no ifs, ands or butts about it.