Teens' problems: Addictions

7. Passive smoking, also known as 'second-hand'
smoke or environmental tobacco smoke (ETS),
is known to cause serious cardiovascular and
respiratory diseases, including coronary heart
disease and lung cancer.
Scientists from China, Britain and
the US have unearthed a link
between passive smoking and
the worsening risk of dementia,
based on a study involving nearly
6,000 people in five provinces of
China.

10. The brains of adolescents who smoke as little as two cigarettes a day respond to images
of smoking as do the brains of heavily addicted adult smokers: with pleasure.

11. Why is smoking the most difficult habit to quit?
It might not come, as much of a surprise to you that smoking is one of the most difficult habits to quit.
But, why is that, really? To find the answer to that question, we need to take a look at the cigarette
itself. It’s common knowledge now that the addictive nature of cigarettes is due to the nicotine
present within them. But, what exactly does nicotine do and why is it so addictive?
How nicotine affects your ability to quit smoking.
Nicotine is primarily a stimulant (or as most people would call it, an ‘upper’), and its effects include
increased blood pressure and heart rate. However, nicotine also has the ability to relax muscles and
reduce stress (which is why you find many people quoting that a smoke is all they need after a
particularly stressful interaction or activity). Of course, let’s not forget that when taken for the first
time, or after reasonable breaks, it can produce feelings of light-headedness (remember that ‘first
smoke of the day’ feeling?).

13. Do you use your intelligence
when you smoke?

14. Pregnancy and addictions
Do you want your child to be an addict?

21. You are young and beautiful… but..
Will it be forever?

26. When people get very ill from smoking they always say that they were thinking of
giving up anyway and that they wish they had given up sooner. You should always
remember two things, firstly that the longer you decide to put off giving up smoking
the more difficult it will eventually be to quit, and secondly that every single day that
you continue to smoke you increase the chances of yourself getting seriously sick and
dying from a smoking related illness.

27. Why quit? Here are five great reasons.
Reason 1: Quitting will help you live longer. According to the American Cancer Society,
about half of all smokers who continue to smoke end up dying from a smoking-related
illness. According to the Centers for Disease Control, the lives of men who smoke are cut
short by an average of 13.2 years, and the lives of women who smoke are cut short by an
average of 14.5 years. People who quit smoking before age 50 cut their risk of dying in
the next 15 years in half compared with people who continue to smoke.
Reason 2: Quitting will save you lots of money. The average smoker spends $2,000 to
$3,000 a year on cigarettes. Quitting can save people lots of money. To find out how much
you spend on tobacco, multiply the amount of money you spend on tobacco each day by
365. Then multiply that number by the number of years you’ve smoked. The total may
surprise you. Next, multiply your annual expense by 10 to predict what you’ll spend over
the next 10 years. Now, think about all the other things you might do with that money.
Reason 3: Quitting will help you greatly improve your health. The health benefits of
quitting smoking begin almost immediately. And the longer you stay smoke free, the
healthier and stronger you become.

28. Reason 4: Quitting will improve your quality of
life. Food will taste better, your sense of smell
will return to normal, and you’ll have more
energy to participate in day-to-day activities
that used to leave you short of breath.
Reason 5: Quitting will improve your appearance. When you quit, you put a halt on
the damaging effects of tobacco on your appearance, including premature wrinkling
of skin, bad breath, stained teeth, gum disease, bad smelling clothes and hair, and
yellow fingernails. You’ll look younger and feel younger, too.

29. You’ve already heard plenty about what smoking can do to your looks and your life. But
have you ever stopped to really think about how much money gets burned up with each
pack of cigarettes?
The average price for a pack of cigarettes is 4 euros nationwide.
Let’s say you smoke one pack a day at the average price of €4.20 per pack—that’s
€126,0 a month and €1512 a year. If you and your partner smoke two packs a day, the
numbers double—€252,0 a month and more than € 3024,0 a year! I’m sure you can think
of better things to do with that amount of money. Let’s multiply by 30 years , the
numbers go up to €45.360,00 and you and your partner €90.720,00
Nicotine in cigarettes is addictive, and most people smoke tobacco regularly because
they are addicted to nicotine. Once people get addicted, they need more and more of
the drug to get the same effect. That means smoking leads to more smoking, which
leads to more money for the cigarette companies and less for you—not to mention
the hit on your health.
When you quit, treat yourself to a reward, and pay for it with the money you used to
spend on cigarettes.