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Smoking - "Affecting young people everyday"

Young people today experience a wide range of illicit substances at relatively easy access. Fake ID, getting someone older to purchase it for you, buying it off the streets, there are so many ways to possess illicit materials. But one, which affects young people in a very permanent and poisonous way, is smoking.

Nature: Before one can delve into what effect smoking/cigarettes, have on the body you must understand what a cigarette contains. One cigarette contains over 4000 chemicals including some that cause cancer.

Nicotine – A very powerful poison. It is extremely addictive, more so than Heroin or marijuana.

Hydrogen Cyanide – This extremely lethal poison is contained in suicide pills and was used in gas chambers during the second world war.

Carbon Monoxide – also an additive in exhaust fumes from cars. Reduces the oxygen carrying capability of the blood.

Tar – This is an obvious one, it is used to make roads, and also causes stains on smokers' fingers, teeth and lung tissue.

Metals - Nickel, arsenic (also used as ant poison) and cadmium (used in car batteries).

All these harmful chemicals can have extremely destructive consequences on your body. They can cause lung, nose, neck and mouth cancer. They lower the bodies ability to carry oxygen thus resulting in frequent loss of breath, make teeth and hands turn yellow, causes heart disease, are incredibly addictive, makes breath and hair smell rancid, and if a woman is pregnant, can have severe repercussions on the babies development.

HEALTHY LUNG SMOKERS LUNG
Cause/Risk Factors

Young people are extremely susceptible to peer pressure. As such, many of them are pressured into trying smoking at least once. Many will find it repulsive but many will also find it addictive and it will be nearly impossible for them to stop.
Studies show that 40 % of young people (15-24) have tried smoking at least once. 25% of them are regular...