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Drugs, alcohol, and smoking

Straight talk about tobacco

Besides being a huge health risk, smoking can destroy your image. You may think it makes you look cool or sophisticated, but it doesn't. Not only can smoking turn your teeth and fingers yellow, it can cause acne and other skin complications. Smoking increases mucus production, which increases the chances of you spitting a lot around your friends. That's not cool at all! (Yuk!) Smoking affects your sense of taste and smell, making both of them less sensitive. If you smoke for a long period of time, you get so use to the smell of stale tobacco smoke on your hair, clothes, and breath that you don't notice it anymore . . . but your friends do! Smoking is also very expensive! With the amount of money you use to buy tobacco products, you can buy an outfit or treat your friends to a movie!

Don't smoke - here's why
"Light" cigarettes aren't safe
Smokeless (spit) tobacco isn't safe either
Hookahs can harm you
Being around others who are smoking hurts you, too
Are you convinced yet?
Fast facts about tobacco
Take the tobacco quiz

Don’t smoke – here’s why top

There are lots of reasons why someone might start smoking – maybe they see their parents smoke or maybe their friends smoke. But there is no good reason to start smoking.

Tobacco is addictive, meaning it is hard to stop using it. It contains nicotine, a drug that affects the brain. It goes through your bloodstream and reaches your brain in seconds. At first, it makes you feel good, but in less than an hour these good feelings go away and you start to feel nervous or moody. Since you want to feel good, you reach for another cigarette. Just like you crave pizza or chocolate, your brain begins to crave nicotine. But even though you are usually able to resist your cravings for your favorite foods, it is much harder to stay away from another cigarette. Eventually, you become hooked. And the younger you are when you start smoking, the more likely you are to become strongly addicted.

This may not be the first time you’ve heard that smoking can make you sick. It can cause diseases like cancer and emphysema, make your bones weak, and keep your heart from working right. But did you know that some symptoms start as soon as you smoke your first cigarette – no matter how young you are?

View a text-only version of the diagram.

Do you play sports? Are you a dancer? Do you sing or play an instrument in the band? Well, guess what? If you smoke, you will not be able to do any of these things very well. It doesn’t matter if you smoke only one cigarette a week or one pack a day—damage starts right away and gets worse as you keep smoking. Smokers can’t get as much oxygen to their muscles so their muscles hurt more when playing sports or exercising. They also run slower and can’t run as far. You will have trouble breathing if you smoke, which is definitely not a good thing if you are active or play an instrument.

"Light" cigarettes aren’t safe top

You may think that "light" cigarettes aren’t as bad as regular cigarettes. Think again! Light cigarettes put smokers at the same risk for smoking-related health problems as regular cigarettes. Some cigarette packs say that light cigarettes have lower tar and nicotine. Don’t let these claims fool you! Tobacco companies use smoking machines to figure out the amount of tar and nicotine in the cigarettes. These machines "smoke" every brand of cigarettes the same way. However, people don’t smoke cigarettes the same way machines do. People who smoke light cigarettes may inhale more deeply, take longer or more puffs, or smoke extra cigarettes to satisfy their nicotine craving. They may inhale just as much tar, nicotine, and other chemicals than people that smoke regular cigarettes.

Smokeless (spit) tobacco isn’t safe either top

Many people think smokeless tobacco (also known as dip, chew, or spit tobacco and snuff) is safe. Smokeless tobacco can cause bleeding gums (gum disease) and sores in the mouth that never heal. Eventually it could cause cancer in your mouth, your throat, and even your stomach! Just like cigarettes, it is addictive because it has nicotine. It stains your teeth a yellowish-brown color. It gives you bad breath. It can make you dizzy, give you the hiccups, and even make you throw up. (Definitely NOT cool!) Learn more about what dip and chew can do to your mouth, teeth, lips, and gums!

Hookahs can harm you top

Middle Eastern men have smoked hookah pipes for hundreds of years. Now, this form of smoking is becoming popular in the U.S., especially among young people. Hookahs are a type of pipe that holds flavoring, like apples or molasses, which is added right before you light it. Then the smoke is inhaled through a long hose. Because the pipe filters the tobacco through water, hookahs are advertised as safer than cigarettes because the percent of tobacco in it is lower. This is NOT true. Hookahs not only have nicotine, but they have carbon monoxide and lots of other harmful substances. Like with smoking other tobacco, hookah smoke has been linked to several kinds of cancer and other health problems.

Being around others who are smoking hurts you, too top

Even if you don’t smoke, it’s not good to hang around others who smoke around you. This is called secondhand smoke, and it can cause some of the same problems for you as it does for people who actually smoke. Your teeth won’t turn yellow and your breath won’t stink, but the smoke can get on your clothes and on your skin. Others who smell smoke on your clothes might think you’re the one smoking! Secondhand smoke can cause your eyes to water and hurt, can make you cough, and if you have asthma, it can trigger an asthma attack. People who are exposed to other’s smoking have a greater chance of developing lung cancer than those who are not around smokers. Approximately 3,000 of nonsmokers die of lung cancer each year from breathing other peoples' smoke!

Are you convinced yet? top

Don’t let anyone tell you that everyone lights up, or that smoking will make you popular. Even though some teens smoke, the good news is that many more are choosing NOT to smoke. Most teens realize that smoking cigarettes is really not cool, and they are finding lots of friends who think the same way. Besides, there are much better ways to spend your time and money than wasting it with cigarettes!

Fast facts about tobacco top

Know the Law. It is illegal for anyone under 18 to buy cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, or tobacco-related products. If you are caught, you can get a ticket, you may have to pay a fine (over $200 in some states!), or be ordered to take a class to help you stop smoking.

Understand the Link. Smoking does not relieve stress, sadness, or depression. Actually, it increases these feelings and causes you to want to smoke more, causing more damage to your health. It’s a bad cycle that is hard to break!

Don’t be Fooled. Many girls think that smoking is a good way to lose weight, but this is not true. Eating healthy foods and exercising are the only ways to stay fit and keep your body healthy and beautiful!

All tobacco is dangerous. If you think you're safe using snuff or chew, or cigars or cigarillos, think again. These are dangerous, too! (And don't let people tell you marijuana is safer. Marijuana can actually be much more dangerous to your body and it can be addictive. It's also illegal!)

It's not as pretty as it looks. Just because movie stars smoke on screen, doesn't mean it's glamorous. Make good choices for you and don't follow in their footsteps.

Social smoking is bad for you, too. Smoking only at parties is still dangerous and people who only light up sometimes may be less likely to ever try to quit!

Take the tobacco quiz top

Test your knowledge of tobacco with this quiz from the Tobacco Information and Prevention Service (TIPS) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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Content last updated June 30, 2008

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