Today many people smoke, from people on the big screen to people you see walking down the street. One may think it is okay to smoke. Wrong! Yes, there are people who smoke that seem healthy, but eventually the diseases and possibly early death will catch up with them. So, a word of advice, don’t smoke!
Smoking is harmful. It causes diseases, and it doesn‘t just harm the person smoking, but everyone around as well. Some people might not know the affects of smoking, but most people do know, due to the many commercials warning them of what can happen. Smoking shouldn’t be something people do, and here’s why.
According to www.smoking-facts.net, cigarettes contain a lot of chemicals that are proven to be cancerous and harmful, such as: acetone, tar, formaldehyde, carbon monoxide, and nicotine. Tar is used to patch up roads. Acetone is used to remove nail polish.
Carbon monoxide is fatal in large amounts. Nicotine is one of the most addictive substances known to man. And the most disturbing one yet, formaldehyde is very poisonous, and is used to preserve corpses.
“Some of the possible side-affects are COPD- (chronic abstractive pulmonary disease). One of these is emphysema. Smoking can also lead to lung cancer, cardiac problems, and other problems of the vital organs of the body. Even secondhand smoke has proven to cause health problems to people who inhale it,” said school nurse RN Brigid Davies.
So, what is our school doing to raise awareness about smoking?
“We tell kids not to smoke, we put up signs that say not to smoke, and we have literature and classes on the harmful affects of tobacco,” said guidance Counselor Ms. Hattie Slaughter.
People nowadays know that smoking is harmful, and they still smoke.
According to Ms. Slaughter, teens start smoking, because they are curious, or pressured by peers, or think it might make them feel grown up. And what’s worse, once a person starts smoking, they are hooked. Others, however, are smarter.
There have been incidents of students caught smoking on school property. According to Ms. Slaughter, smoking on school property is illegal, and the students caught had to listen to long lectures about smoking.
“Yeah, I got caught smoking. They suspended me. I don’t care much. I still smoke sometimes, but not around the school,” said an anonymous student from our school.
Many smokers do have white, beautiful smiles, fine breathing, and don’t have any problems that come from smoking. But don’t be fooled. Those problems don’t happen overnight. It takes years to develop them, and usually when these problems do start to appear, it might be too late to fix them.
“Smoking is disgusting. It’s tempting to try and the majority of people have tried it. But in the end I realized that it doesn’t do anything good for anyone and I think people shouldn’t do it,” said freshman Rachel Kogan.
Smoking is a nasty habit. It can be broken, but it tends to be a long and painful process for the smokers. So what is the best solution to prevent cancer and diseases caused by smoking? Don’t smoke! Every person gets one life. Is it worth to lose it to an illness caused by smoking?
