Impact Of Smoking Among Adolescents

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Impact Of Smoking Among Adolescents

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Impact Of Smoking Among Adolescents

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Question:
Discuss about the Factors That Cause Smoking And The Impact Of Smoking Among Adolescents.

Answer:

Introduction
Smoking among adolescents is a common occurrence. There are several reasons why adolescents and teenagers take to smoking at a young age. Some reasons can be attributed to social causes and others to the developmental stage of the brain. The impact of smoking on physical and mental health is rather profound. Smoking affects the functioning of the respiratory system and the cardiovascular system. The addiction to nicotine occurs rather quickly among adolescents and affects academic performance. Smoking begins as an experiment and leads to several diseases in adulthood. The causes and effects of smoking and addiction to nicotine among adolescents are a cause for serious concern.
Body
Smoking among teenagers has been observed in all cultures. There have been efforts to determine the causes of why young people want to smoke. Smoking by elders in the family is known to increase the likelihood of smoking initiation among teenagers. Factors that increase the chances of adolescent children include the duration of exposure to smoking, and sharing the residence with the parent and sons are more likely to imitate fathers (Gilman, et al., 2009). Smoking by role models and film actors appears to influence teenagers. In the current times of high awareness about the detrimental effects of smoking, teenagers are aware of the dangerous consequences regarding health that smoking exposes them to. The short term risks of upper respiratory infections and delayed lung development as well as the long term risk of developing lung cancer are known to most first time smokers.
Smoking initiation in adolescence may not always culminate into a habit because many among the adolescents do not go beyond initial stage of experimentation; however, in some of them an early or late escalation of smoking occurs and others may form a continuous habit. During their growing up years adolescents often wish to adopt habits that are ‘cool’, they want to look like grown-ups and may even conform with an adolescent idea of ‘attractive’. Adolescents who begin are more likely to be novelty seeking, perform poorly at academics and have higher risk of using addictive substances when compared with non-smokers (Heatherton & Sargent, 2009). Another reason why adolescents and girls in particular smoke is because of their belief that smoking helps in losing weight. The belief was found to be more common among boys and girls who came from poor socioeconomic backgrounds and performed poorly at academics (Penzes, 2012). Often cigarette companies target advertisements t young girls with messages that promote the belief that smoking can help them become slimmer.

Effect of the habit of smoking on lungs and the respiratory system is well known. Long term smoking has been associated increased risk of lung cancer. During adolescence, the lungs are still growing, and smoking can cause the growth to cease earlier and this is associated with an early decline in the function of lungs. The propensity for asthma, bronchitis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is higher in individuals who smoke. Symptoms of asthma are more severe among smokers and drugs taken to reduce the inflammation are less effective. Wheezing increases in patients due to the smoke. The adverse effects of smoking are seen in young smokers and tobacco smoke can cause lung injury (CDC, 2012).
There are several short term and long term effects of smoking on the developing brain of adolescents. At this age they are more prone to taking risks, may suffer from mood swings and most of their social behaviour is determined by influence of peers. The risk of smoking is high because at this age they are more likely to be impulsive. And since nicotine is the most socially accepted drug, they take to cigarette smoking, initially for experience and later because the addiction occurs. Nicotine affects cognitive control and the development of the pre-frontal which is still underway, gets affected. Executive judgement and inhibition control are affected due to the effect of nicotine on the brain. Adolescents begin to smoke with a notion that they will smoke for a few years and quit. They feel the social pressure to a greater extent than adults do and the immature cognitive control leads to taking the risk. The rate at which adolescents get addicted is faster than that in adults (Goriounova & Mansvelder, 2012).
Memory and attention span are reduced in adolescents who are addicted to nicotine. Substance use disorders and psychotic disorders are also more common. Anxiety and depression occur at a higher frequency in individuals who smoke. Adolescents who smoke are more likely to get addicted to alcohol and indulge in substance abuse. The impact of smoking is not limited to the respiratory system and the brain.
The risk of cardiovascular disease increases with addiction to nicotine, the addictive substance in tobacco. Injury to the endothelial lining of the blood vessels occurs, there is an increase in triglyceride levels and a decrease in levels of high density lipoprotein. Atherosclerosis is an outcome of smoking and can result in angina pectoris, myocardial infarction and other cardiovascular diseases during adulthood. Greater left ventricular mass among smokers also causes heart disease. Poor endurance and a lower peak heart rate are commonly observed among smokers. The overall fitness is compromised due to smoking and can lead to several diseases at a young age (CDC, 2012).
The understanding of the causes and impact of smoking on health of the young can help target prevention strategies so that the burden of disease and mortality can be reduced.
Conclusion
Smoking among adolescents begins due to peer pressure and the ability of the young to take risks. It appears as an activity that is fun, makes them look grown-up and attractive but quickly turns into an addiction. Parents, friends and role models who smoke usually cause the initiation. The effect of the nicotine on the developing brain and the toxic effects on the lungs cause disease. Although the adolescents are aware of the risks of smoking they enjoy taking risks and can fall ill with diseases of the lungs, low fitness and cardiovascular diseases. It affects their memory and reduces attention spans and makes them more prone to develop anxiety and depression. An understanding of the causes and effects of smoking can help to prevent smoking among adolescents.

References
CDC. (2012). Preventing Tobacco Use Among Youth and Young Adults: A Report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta: CDC.
Gilman, S., Rende, R., Boergers, J., Abrams, D., Buka, S., Clark, M., . . . Stroud, L. (2009). Parental smoking and adolescent smoking initiation: an intergenerational perspective on tobacco control. Paediatrics, 123(2): e274–e281.
Goriounova, N., & Mansvelder, H. (2012). Short- and Long-Term Consequences of Nicotine Exposure during Adolescence for Prefrontal Cortex Neuronal Network Function. Cold Springs Harbour Perspectives in Medicine, 2(12): a012120.
Heatherton, T., & Sargent, J. (2009). Does Watching Smoking in Movies Promote Teenage Smoking? Current Directions in Psychological Science, 18(2), 63–67. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8721.2009.01610.x.
Penzes, M. C. (2012). Factors associated with tobacco smoking and the belief about weight control effect of smoking among hungarian adolescents. . Central European Journal of Public Health, 20(1), 11–17.

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