by Paige D.
How many times have you told yourself that you are never going to smoke? No matter what, you will never give in to peer pressure.
A lot of kids say they won’t light up, but the truth is many kids will end up smoking before they are adults. Most teenagers smoke because of peer pressure or because their parents smoked when they were kids. The average age that a person hits the nicotine is 13. That’s about the age of half the students here at Cedar Valley. On average, 90% of all smokers started before they were 18. Not only are they endangering their own lives, but those around them.
About 5.4 million people die from smoking each year in America. Smokers die approximately 15 years sooner than the average human lifespan. You can get lung cancer, coronary heart disease, respiratory infections and other diseases that will affect your lifestyle.
And then there is secondhand smoke. Secondhand smoke is when others around a smoker breathe in the smoke exhaled by the smoker. Secondhand smoke can harm a nonsmoker in the same way smokers damage their life and develop life threatening diseases. When parents smoke around their children, they are infecting them with harsh chemicals and secondhand smoke.
“I think that smoking is really bad and that people who smoke need to get their priorities straight because eventually it’s going to kill you,” said Kayla Duff (7).
When people smoke, some have no idea what they are inhaling into their lungs. There are 599 additives in cigarettes. Most cigarettes and cigars contain tobacco, nicotine, tar and arsenic. Arsenic is also used in rat poison!
A survey of our faculty resulted in the illustrations. The results indicate that not many teachers at our school smoke. The bottom line is no matter how cool it may seem, smoking is not glamorous and nicotine may well be the most addicting drug on the market. Don't start, and you won't have to worry about trying to quit.
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