These days it seems every teenager wants to be “cool,” but in school, that appears to be reserved for the select few that play sports, cheerlead, do other activities, or have some attribute that puts you in the spotlight.
Sometimes you do things in order to be popular with a certain group, or to meet other teens and have more friends. One thing teenagers often do to be considered “cool” is something very dangerous and widely misunderstood. And that is…smoking.
Let’s look at what we’ll say are the positives:
1. A conversation starter: When you smoke, and see another teen smoking, you think you have something in common, maybe ask for a light, then it’s easier to start up a conversation.
2. A social activity: You get together with other teens, smoke, and talk. If a “cool” teen happens to smoke with the group, you meet him or her and possibly become friends, or at least acquaintances. 3. A calming effect. According to some people, cigarette smoking can be quite calming when you’re stressed.
Now, we’ll look at the negatives:
1. Cigarettes are extremely addictive, you have this over-powering urge to put a lit one in your mouth and flood your lungs with smoke. And when you’re addicted – there goes your Freedom!!!
2. With your addiction comes the cost of your habit. If a pack of cigarettes is about $5.00, and you smoke one pack a day, you’re spending $150.00 a month, which comes out to $1,800.00 a year. So, after 10 years, you’ve spent about $20,000. You just smoked away a car. But if you smoke more than a pack – you do the math!
3. Sucking in all that cigarette smoke causes cells to die and the nicotine coats the fibers in your lungs. Those fibers are supposed to move constantly, but being so heavy with all that crap, they can’t. So, when they are able to move, you get a hacking cough.
4. All that toxic irritation can lead to emphysema, a disease that makes it hard to breathe. You see people with oxygen tanks going everywhere with them? That’s what you’ll be doing! Then, when the oxygen just isn’t enough, you can’t breathe and you suffocate. Yep, dead as a doornail, Gram says.
5. As if that wasn’t enough, smoking is the leading cause of lung cancer, which can spread to other parts of your body, like mouth, tongue, organs. And if you smoke around other people, they can get cancer too, just like you. It can even be harmful to your pets.
6. People with cigarette allergies avoid you. Most public places have banned smoking, so when you smoke outside, you either burn up or freeze your butt off.
7. A teen always wants to smell good, right? Well, now that you’re “cool,” relaxed, social, and addicted, your breath smells really bad, and so do your clothes and hair.
8. Lastly, let’s take a look at your appearance. As you smoke cigarettes throughout the years, your teeth turn yellow, and you wrinkle…badly.
Do you look “cool” with a cigarette hanging out of your mouth? Not really, no.
But only you can decide that smoking isn’t for you. And for your sake and those you love, I hope you decide it’s not!
See ya, Jacob
Photos: 315 by Gabriel Cabral, Agitation by Faint Sanity, Acceleration by Faint Sanity , Beedi by , Smokers Have 10 Times More Wrinkles Than Non-Smokers by TRF_Mr_Hyde
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