The issues with smoking

An issue the world faces today is smoking. Smoking is a very common thing at the moment, but that doesn’t mean it’s a good thing. Smoking can affect a person’s life in a very bad way, smoking can cause addiction and can later cause health issues people may face for the rest of their lives. 

Almost everybody has been told smoking is bad and when they ask why they get the answer of “it can cause health issues” but they can never answer how or why. Basically they (adults) can’t answer questions with more depth. This causes kids to believe or feel like smoking isn’t as dangerous as people say it is so they decide to try it out themselves. For these reasons I decided to research about smoking and maybe help prevent more kids from smoking. 

To do this I decided to ask for people’s opinion or experiences with smoking, I first decided to ask my cousin, Josie Ventura. She said,“I think at first I started smoking because I’ve seen so many kids at my school smoke and they made it seem cool, so to fit in I decided to start smoking too.It was just my way to fit in.” Kids start smoking because of temptation and peer pressure. Seeing other kids do it they get the pressure of wanting to smoke too.

According to the American Thoracic Society, “There are many reasons why a person starts to smoke. For some teens, it is a way to rebel against their parents. Other teens may feel pressure from their friends (peer pressure) and begin smoking as a way to appear “cool.” Some may be modeling a parent’s or sibling’s behavior, and others believe it is a way to relieve stress or boredom. Even if you don’t think you are going to keep smoking, it is very easy to get “hooked” or addicted because of the nicotine found in all tobacco products.” This shows that kids get peer pressured to smoke so they can look cool to their friends. 

To add on, smoking has many dangers too. For example according to the CDC, “Smoking leads to disease and disability and harms nearly every organ of the body.”

More than 16 million Americans are living with a disease caused by smoking. For every person who dies because of smoking, at least 30 people live with a serious smoking-related illness. Smoking causes cancer, heart disease, stroke, lung diseases, diabetes, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis. Smoking also increases risk for tuberculosis, certain eye diseases, and problems of the immune system, including rheumatoid arthritis.” This shows what dangers smoking brings to a person. 

In conclusion smoking is a dangerous issue the world faces today, starting with teenage kids. Due to this being a dangerous issue in the world we should try to prevent people from smoking and getting addicted. We have to make sure to prevent smoking to stop losing kids and adults.