Fewer Young People Smoking Cigarettes: Have You Ever Smoked?
SodaHead Living
2012/05/17 18:00:00
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Good health news today: Fewer American teenagers and young adults are smoking cigarettes, a new government report shows, according to WebMD. The percentage of 12- to 17-year-olds who said they lit up during the survey month declined from a high of almost 12 percent in 2004 to a low of 8.3 percent in 2010, according to the report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
And young adults are kicking the butts, too. The number of 18- to 25-year-olds who reported smoking during the survey month fell from nearly 40 percent in 2004 to about 34 percent in 2010. "Although some progress has been made in curbing youth smoking, the fact remains that 1 in 12 adolescents currently smoke and 1 in 3 young adults smoke -- which means far too many young adults are still endangering their lives," SAMHSA Administrator Pamela S. Hyde says in a news release.
"Smoking is the nation's leading cause of preventable death and we must take every opportunity to prevent kids and young adults of today from becoming the hooked, ailing adult smokers of tomorrow," Hyde says. Have you ever smoked cigarettes? Lightly or heavily? If so, did you kick the habit? Or are you one of those people who was smart enough to never start to begin with?
Top Opinion
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sglmom 2012/05/17 20:00:45
Perhaps I'll wait around for another survey to see if things have changed again...
I will have an occasional cigar but no cigarettes ever again.
and if I could quit , anyone can..
it took lining a couple of things up in unison tho...the patch, a hypnotist who actually worked, a website support group, and the first two days I Benedryled myself(get up from bed , go potty, have a glass of water and 2 more benedryl ) got me thru the worst of the withdrawal..
I feel so much better now.. I can run upstairs, I dont stink, I can take in a lungful of air without gaggin choking and turning blue,its amazing
The summer I turned 12, I came to my mom and asked her to honor her word, she did, she handed me a carton of cigarettes and a lighter, her only instructions were that I could only smoke at home. I began smoking that very day. First thing that happened was I noticed how disgusting cigarettes were, not sexy at all, my best friend wouldn't speak to me because I was smoking. Cigarettes stink, they taste rank, it made me stink, it was no fun... I smoked for a week, then handed the remaining carton back to my mom and told her I never wanted to see another cigarette again.
Because of the way my mother handled the situation, by not forbidding it, by supervising me, she kept me from sneaking around and doing it, there was no pleasure, guilty or otherwise, it was pure misery. After that, when I was in school, and my friends were smoking in the bathroom, I had no problem saying "no thank you" when offered a smoke, I sincerely didn't want it, it completely c...
The summer I turned 12, I came to my mom and asked her to honor her word, she did, she handed me a carton of cigarettes and a lighter, her only instructions were that I could only smoke at home. I began smoking that very day. First thing that happened was I noticed how disgusting cigarettes were, not sexy at all, my best friend wouldn't speak to me because I was smoking. Cigarettes stink, they taste rank, it made me stink, it was no fun... I smoked for a week, then handed the remaining carton back to my mom and told her I never wanted to see another cigarette again.
Because of the way my mother handled the situation, by not forbidding it, by supervising me, she kept me from sneaking around and doing it, there was no pleasure, guilty or otherwise, it was pure misery. After that, when I was in school, and my friends were smoking in the bathroom, I had no problem saying "no thank you" when offered a smoke, I sincerely didn't want it, it completely circumvented peer pressure.
Not saying that would work with every kid, but my mother knew me well enough and trusted her instincts, and it worked. I am forever thankful to my mother.
Wretha
I never believed it looked cool and never found any good reason to outweigh the guaranteed dangers to my health.
I've smoked maybe 10 cigarettes in my whole life, usually when I was drinking. I'm very glad I never picked up that habit.
I think many teens may have family members (parents, grandparents, etc) who've suffered the negative consequences of smoking. It sets the example to avoid smoking and be healthy.