Ditch the smoking habit

Growing up is not only about making your own choices, but to take responsibility for the choices you make. What you do affects who you become and if you make bad choices, you will get bad results. You are at an age where the choices you make will affect the rest of your life. Among the many bad habits most adults regrettably got into while they were still teenagers is smoking! Today, millions of people worldwide are fighting to break free from the chains of the horrible habit of cigarette smoking. They lament over why they started in the first place. Did you know that more than 90 percent of adult smokers started when they were teens? Smoking is a hard habit to break because tobacco contains nicotine, which is highly addictive. Once you start smoking, even if you are doing it for fun and intend to stop, the body and mind quickly become so used to the nicotine in cigarettes that you need to have it just to feel normal. Teens start smoking for a variety of different reasons. Some think it looks cool to smoke, others smoke because their family members or friends smoke, others use it as a form of rebellion or a way to fit in with a particular group of friends. Today most adults who started smoking in their teens never expected to become addicted. That’s why it’s so much easier to not start smoking at all. There are no reasons to start smoking. The body doesn’t need tobacco the way it needs food, water, sleep, and exercise. And many of the chemicals in cigarettes, like nicotine and cyanide, are actually poisons that can kill. Smoking leads people to develop health problems like heart disease, strokes and many types of cancer, including lung, throat, stomach, and bladder cancer. People who smoke also have an increased risk of infections like bronchitis. These diseases limit a person’s ability to be normally active, and they can be fatal. The consequences of smoking may seem irrelevant, but long-term health problems aren’t the only hazards associated to smoking. Nicotine and the other toxins in cigarettes, can affect a person’s body quickly, which means that teen smokers experience many of these problems. Like bad skin, breath, bad-smelling clothes and hair, reduced athletic performance, greater risk of injury and slower healing time and increased risk of illness. Staying smoke free will give you a whole lot more of more energy, better performance, better looks and, in the long run, a longer life to live! If you are a smart teenager, say no to smoking! Don’t start smoking if you want to stay healthy and smart. Make the right decision; smoking is not the way to go! martin.bishop18@yahoo.com