tobacco

Not so Fun Facts

44.7% of high school students had tried cigarette smoking (even one or two puffs).(1)
20.4% of students smoke cigarettes regularly.(1)
8.9% of students have used smokeless tobacco (e.g., chewing tobacco, snuff, or dip) at least once.(1)
5.1% of students had smoked cigarettes on school property at least once.(1)

Frequently Asked Questions

Smoking

How Is Tobacco Used?

Tobacco can be smoked in cigarettes, cigars, or pipes. It can be chewed or, if powdered, sniffed. “Bidis” are an alternative cigarette. They come originally from India and are hand-rolled. In the U.S., bidis are popular with teens because they come in colorful packages with flavor choices.

Some teens think that bidis or smokeless tobacco alternatives are less harmful than regular cigarettes, but in fact they have more nicotine, which may make people smoke more, giving bidis or smokeless tobacco products the potential to be even more harmful than cigarettes.

Hookah”or water pipe smoking” practiced for centuries in other countries, has recently become popular among teens as well. Hookah tobacco comes in many flavors, and the pipe is typically passed around in groups. Although many hookah smokers think it is less harmful than smoking cigarettes, water pipe smoking still delivers the addictive drug nicotine and is at least as toxic as cigarette smoking.

Is Nicotine the Only Harmful Part of Tobacco?

No. Nicotine is only one of more than 4,000 chemicals, many of which are poisonous, found in the smoke from tobacco products. Smokeless tobacco products also contain many toxins, as well as high levels of nicotine. Many of these other ingredients are things we would never consider putting in our bodies, like tar, carbon monoxide, acetaldehyde, and nitrosamines. Tar causes lung cancer, emphysema, and bronchial diseases. Carbon monoxide causes heart problems, which is one reason why smokers are at high risk for heart disease.

Is Tobacco Smoke Addictive?

Most teens do not try tobacco for the first time with the intent of getting addicted. Unfortunately, nicotine is so addictive that many teens do get addicted. Seventy percent of teenage smokers wish they’d never taken up the habit in the first place.

What Are the Common Street Names?

You might hear cigarettes referred to as “smokes,” “cigs,” or “butts.” Smokeless tobacco is often called “chew,” “dip,” “spit tobacco,” “snus,” or “snuff.” People may refer to hookah smoking as “narghile,” “argileh,” “shisha,” “hubble-bubble,” or “goza.”

How Many Teens Use It?

In 2009, 20.1 percent of 12th-graders, 13.1 percent of 10th-graders, and 6.5 percent of 8th-graders still reported smoking in the month. (1)

Use of smokeless tobacco is also increasing. According to the survey, current use of smokeless tobacco among 8th-graders was 3.7 percent and 6.5 percent for 10th-graders. Among 12th-graders, 8.4 percent reported using smokeless tobacco in the last month. (1)

How Does Tobacco Affect Your Athletic Performance? (2)

Nicotine narrows your blood vessels and puts added strain on your heart.
Smoking can wreck lungs and reduce oxygen available for muscles used during sports.
Smokers suffer shortness of breath almost 3 times more often than nonsmokers.
Smokers run slower and can’t run as far, affecting overall athletic performance.
Athletes who smoke can never reach the peak of their natural ability or do as well as nonsmoking athletes because their bodies get less oxygen.
Cigars and spit tobacco are NOT safe alternatives.

How Much Do Cigarettes Cost?

One pack of cigarettes per day $5. Multiplied by the days in a year x 365-Yearly cost for cigarettes $1,825. Spend that money on CDs, clothes, computer games, and movies.

What Myths about Tobacco Exist?

There are many common myths about tobacco. View the video below which discusses the 7 myths that are commonly associated with smoking .

CDC-videos -http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/publications/dvds_videos/seven_deadly_myths/index.htm

Is Secondhand Smoke Harmful?

Secondhand smoke (inhaled from other people) is almost as harmful as smoking. Secondhand smoke causes about 3,000 deaths from lung cancer and tens of thousands of deaths from heart disease to nonsmoking adults in the United States each year. Secondhand smoke (also known as environmental tobacco smoke) is the smoke a smoker breathes out and that comes from the tip of burning cigarettes, pipes, and cigars.

Tips to Avoid Smoking

Know the truth. Despite all the tobacco use on TV and in movies, music videos, billboards and magazines-most teens, adults, and athletes DON’T use tobacco.

Tobacco use is the single most preventable cause of death in the United States, causing heart disease, cancers (oral or lung), and strokes
Smokers Cough and have asthma attacks more often and develop respiratory problems, leading to poorer athletic performance.
Tobacco will permanently stain your teeth and cause bad breath
Tobacco can soil your clothes and make your clothes and hair stink
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, adolescents who smoke are three times more likely to drink alcohol, eight times more likely to smoke marijuana and twenty-two times more likely to use cocaine. For that reason, tobacco has been dubbed a “gateway” drug.
Adolescents can become hooked on cigarettes after smoking only a few packs and once addicted, they find it extremely hard to quit.

55 reasons to not start smoking

Refer to http://www.teengrowth.com/index.cfm?action=info_article&ID_article=1358

Need Help? What If you Think You are Addicted to Tobacco?

Below is a “Hooked on Nicotine” checklist. One “yes,” means you may be addicted to cigarettes. The more yeses, the more dependent you are.

Have you ever tried to quit smoking, but couldn’t?
Do you smoke now because it is really hard to quit?
Have you ever felt as if you were addicted to tobacco?
Do you ever have strong cravings to smoke?
Have you ever felt as if you really needed a cigarette?
Is it hard to keep from smoking in places where you are not supposed to, like school?
When you tried to stop smoking or when you haven’t used tobacco for a while: Did you find it hard to concentrate because you couldn’t smoke?
Did you feel more irritable because you couldn’t smoke?
Did you feel a strong need or urge to smoke?
Did you feel nervous, restless or anxious because you couldn’t smoke?
What If I am Addicted and Want to Quit?

If you’re already addicted, there’s help available to you. You can successfully quit smoking with help and support. Get support from family and friends. Just ask your doctor for help finding a program to stop smoking.or call 1-800-QUIT-NOW (800/784-8669). 1-800-QUIT NOW is a national toll-free telephone counseling resource.

Useful Websites:

www.cancer.org
www.lungusa.org
www.ama-assn.org
www.tobaccofreekids.org
www.cdc.gov/tobacco/index.htm
www.cancer.gov

References

2011 National Youth Risk Behavior Study, seen at http://www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/yrbs/pdf/us_overview_yrbs.pdf, last accesssed 10/31/11.
Adopted from the CDC at http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/youth/information_sheet/index.htm (with permission)