Should i start smoking cigarettes

And most high school students don't smoke either — about 9 in do. But why do those who smoke ever begin? There's more than just one answer. Some kids may start smoking just because they're curious. Others may like the idea of doing something dangerous — something grownups don't want them to do.

Still others might know lots of people who smoke and they might think it's a way to act or look like an adult. Fortunately, fewer people are starting smoking than a few years ago. Maybe that's because more and more people have learned that smoking and tobacco use can cause cancer and heart disease.

But sometimes kids can't really think that far into the future to worry about an illness they might not get for many years. Tobacco say: tuh-BA-ko is a plant that can be smoked in cigarettes, pipes, or cigars. It's the same plant that's in smokeless tobacco, known as dip, chew, snuff, spit, or chewing tobacco. Smokeless tobacco is not lit or inhaled like tobacco in cigarettes, pipes, and cigars.

Instead, smokeless tobacco is put between the lip and gum and sucked on inside the mouth. Tobacco contains nicotine say: NIH-kuh-teen , a chemical that causes a tingly or pleasant feeling — but that feeling only lasts for a little while. Non-combusted products contain nicotine and can lead to nicotine addiction. The e-liquid in all JUULs and most other e-cigarettes contains nicotine, the same addictive drug that is in regular cigarettes, cigars, hookah, and other tobacco products.

However, nicotine levels are not the same in all types of e-cigarettes, and sometimes product labels do not list the true nicotine content. JUULs typically have a significantly higher amount of nicotine per puff than some other types of e-cigarettes and cigarettes. Some kids have become physically dependent on nicotine by using these products. There are some e-cigarette brands that claim to be nicotine-free but have been found to contain nicotine.

Stopping or cutting back on tobacco causes symptoms of nicotine withdrawal. Withdrawal is both physical and mental. Physically, your body is reacting to the absence of nicotine. Mentally, you are faced with giving up a habit, which calls for a major change in behavior. Studies have shown that smokeless tobacco users have as much trouble giving up tobacco as people who want to quit smoking cigarettes.

People who have used tobacco regularly for a few weeks or longer will have withdrawal symptoms if they suddenly stop or greatly reduce the amount they use. They usually start within a few hours and peak about 2 to 3 days later when most of the nicotine and its by-products are out of the body.

Withdrawal symptoms can last a few days to up to several weeks. Tobacco companies shape their marketing campaigns to portray smokers as cool, sexy, independent, fun, attractive and living on the edge—images that appeal to many teens. Only 5 percent of high-school-age smokers believe they'll still be smoking five years after graduation, but they don't understand how difficult quitting can be.

Research shows that after eight years, 75 percent of those smokers still will use some form of tobacco. Know a teen who is ready to quit smoking? This November your donation goes even further to improve lung health and defeat lung cancer. Double Your Gift. Your tax-deductible donation funds lung disease and lung cancer research, new treatments, lung health education, and more.

But is smoking such a big deal, really? I actually think we need more people to start smoking, for a variety of reasons:. Whenever I see someone smoking a cigarette, the first thought that pops into my head is, damn, that person is cool.

The way you take the pack out of your jeans, and the pocket has that permanent outline of a cigarette box. Or have you ever seen someone with a pack rolled up inside a shirtsleeve? Trust me, it is. Smoking is just really, really cool. You want people to stop smoking? Well what do you think is going to happen to all of those people who work for the cigarette companies?

Do you own a big corporation? Oh, so you want all of those people to be out of work?