¶ … dangers of teenage smoking. Specifically, it will look at how teenagers begin smoking, and what can be done to help them quit. THE DANGERS OF TEENAGE SMOKING

The health hazards of smoking are well-known and documented. In 1992, over 400,000 people died from complications from smoking each year, including lung and throat cancer, stroke, and heart disease. The number today is even higher. Additionally, some studies have also shown that starting to smoke as a teenager has the potential to permanently damage lung tissue.

A study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute has shown that smoking in the teenage years causes dramatic and lifelong DNA damage in the lungs. In fact, the young smokers could be at a permanently higher risk of developing lung cancer, even if they later quit (Editors).

Teenagers begin smoking for a variety of reasons, including peer pressure and a concerted effort by advertisers to acquire and retain young smokers. Perhaps the biggest threat to young people considering smoking is peer pressure, which can be considerable. Some teens consider it "cool" to smoke; others think it makes them look older or more sophisticated. "They start smoking because they think it will give them a better image like being cooler, more attractive, or more popular. Because of their low self-image, they don't have the confidence to 'say no' when a cigarette is offered to them" (Breznicky et. al.).

Another factor in pressure to smoke is whether the parents smoke. Children of smokers are more apt to smoke than children of parents who do not smoke.

According to this conception, parent drug-prone personality attributes are related to difficulty in the...

Drug-prone personality characteristics are associated with selecting friends who use drugs, which, in turn, is related to the youngster's tobacco use
Brook 173).

Cigarette advertising also puts pressure on young smokers. Ads depict smoking as cool, something teens need to do to fit in. Cigarette manufacturers, whether they admit it or not, are dependent on new generations of smokers as older smokers quit or die as a result of their smoking. Although advertising geared specifically to teens has been curtailed in the past few years, "Joe Camel" and his cohorts still coerce millions of young people to try smoking every year.

Added to this pressure is the rise of young people smoking in popular films. A recent study of admired films with popular stars by the journal "Tobacco Control," "Found that 65% smoked on screen at least once and 42% portrayed smoking as an essential character trait in one or more films. Three film stars - Leonardo DiCaprio, Sharon Stone and John Travolta - smoked in three or more films" (Boseley).

Because the nicotine contained in cigarettes is an addictive drug, most smokers find it extremely difficult to give up smoking. "Most smokers smoke out of habit. Once the habit is ended, many of smoking's most harmful effects decline rather quickly" (Douglas 49). Quitting smoking can substantially reduce the risk of diseases related to smoking, and it can take as little as five years for the effects to wear off and the body return to normal.

Recent research, cited in U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [1990] (USDHHS), indicates that…