“396,000 smokers who started as teens die each year from smoking related diseases” (The Tragedy of Teen Smoking, 2016, para 2). Everyone should have an equal opportunity to live their life. Unfortunately, there are struggles we may face in life but we shouldn’t be encouraging the health problems. There are many reasons why people start smoking at a young age but instead of asking why, we should be doing more to prevent it. Many smokers begin at a young age and the younger they begin, the sooner they will develop health problems. According to these statistics, “11% of middle school students who reported having smoked,” which is shocking to know that there are kids who start so young (Statistic Brain, 2016, para 6). Unfortunately, we can’t force
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I watched them smoke everyday and I despised it, so I promised myself that I would never smoke. I grew up watching my parents smoke inside the house, other people’s houses, and almost anywhere we went. I would constantly tell them to stop smoking cigarettes and they always said they would quit, but they never did. Eventually, I told them they can smoke, but don’t do it inside the house, around my sister and me. They still didn’t listen and it was very frustrating. In grade school, I was taught that it was bad for my health and that death was a risk, so that scared me. When I was younger, I was told that secondhand smoke was more harmful than smoking a cigarette. According to the American Cancer Society, “secondhand smoke is known to cause cancer. It has more than 7,000 chemicals, including at least 70 that can cause cancer” (Health Risks of Secondhand Smoke, para 4). Not only is the person smoking, risking their own health, but they are choosing to risk others around them too. As adults, we don’t get to be reminded whether the choices we make are good or bad. We make our own choices and learn from them. Many people would rather choose to smoke now, get sick later, and then figure out a plan from there. Not only do teens need to be educated on smoking tobacco but adults should be too. My boyfriend, Raymond Gaela, said, “I decided to smoke my first cigarette because I wanted to know what it felt like” …show more content…
Hawaii wanted to reduce the number of teen smokers because it is a lot harder for teens to stop when they start at a young age. In a recent article from Hawaii News Now, “nearly half of Big Island high schoolers said they 'd tried e-cigarettes at least once, and 30 percent said they 'd used one in the last 30 days” (HNN Staff, 2016, para 7). Even though the legal purchase age had been raised, it hasn’t stopped the number of teen smokers. It may have reduced but it wasn’t a huge impact on teen smoking. The 30 percent reported may only be a majority because some teen smokers don’t want to report their illegal activity. I’m not against California’s new law but if they truly say they don’t support teen smoking then they should do more to help reduce the number of teen smokers. The media is a huge negative influence to teen smoking, and that is another factor to consider, to reduce teen
I watched them smoke everyday and I despised it, so I promised myself that I would never smoke. I grew up watching my parents smoke inside the house, other people’s houses, and almost anywhere we went. I would constantly tell them to stop smoking cigarettes and they always said they would quit, but they never did. Eventually, I told them they can smoke, but don’t do it inside the house, around my sister and me. They still didn’t listen and it was very frustrating. In grade school, I was taught that it was bad for my health and that death was a risk, so that scared me. When I was younger, I was told that secondhand smoke was more harmful than smoking a cigarette. According to the American Cancer Society, “secondhand smoke is known to cause cancer. It has more than 7,000 chemicals, including at least 70 that can cause cancer” (Health Risks of Secondhand Smoke, para 4). Not only is the person smoking, risking their own health, but they are choosing to risk others around them too. As adults, we don’t get to be reminded whether the choices we make are good or bad. We make our own choices and learn from them. Many people would rather choose to smoke now, get sick later, and then figure out a plan from there. Not only do teens need to be educated on smoking tobacco but adults should be too. My boyfriend, Raymond Gaela, said, “I decided to smoke my first cigarette because I wanted to know what it felt like” …show more content…
Hawaii wanted to reduce the number of teen smokers because it is a lot harder for teens to stop when they start at a young age. In a recent article from Hawaii News Now, “nearly half of Big Island high schoolers said they 'd tried e-cigarettes at least once, and 30 percent said they 'd used one in the last 30 days” (HNN Staff, 2016, para 7). Even though the legal purchase age had been raised, it hasn’t stopped the number of teen smokers. It may have reduced but it wasn’t a huge impact on teen smoking. The 30 percent reported may only be a majority because some teen smokers don’t want to report their illegal activity. I’m not against California’s new law but if they truly say they don’t support teen smoking then they should do more to help reduce the number of teen smokers. The media is a huge negative influence to teen smoking, and that is another factor to consider, to reduce teen