Avoiding tobacco use will bring lifelong health benefits.

nicotine withdrawal

nicotine substitute

tobacco cessation program

Teens and Tobacco

Fewer teens are starting to use tobacco.

Knowing the health risks of tobacco use helps teens make the healthful decision to stay tobacco-free.

Why Some Teens Use Tobacco

False Belief The Truth

Smoking helps control weight Smoking reduces the capacity for physical activity, so it may lead to weight gain.

Smoking helps cope with stress Nicotine addiction and tobacco-related health problems increase stress.

Why Some Teens Use Tobacco

Others believe that smoking will make them seem mature and independent.

 

Media images may convince teens that tobacco use is glamorous.

 

Reduced Tobacco Use Among Teens

The CDC reports that 77 percent of high school students nationwide do not smoke.

Source: Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2005

Reduced Tobacco Use Among Teens

Reasons Teens Are Smoking Less

Tobacco Legislation

No-Smoking Policies

Family Values

Positive Peer Pressure

Health Risks

Reduced Tobacco Use Among Teens

Teens who choose a tobacco-free lifestyle will feel mentally and physically better than teens who use tobacco.

Benefits of Living Tobacco-Free

A tobacco-free lifestyle has many benefits.

The best way to avoid the negative consequences of tobacco use is never to start using tobacco products.

Benefits of Living Tobacco-Free

Physical Benefits You will have better health and fewer health risks.

Mental/Emotional Benefits

You will have less stress and a sense of freedom.

Social Benefits You will look and feel better.

Strategies for Avoiding Tobacco

Use these strategies to stick to your decision to live tobacco-free.

Surround yourself with positive influences.

Reduce peer pressure.

Be prepared with refusal skills.

Strategies for Avoiding Tobacco

Choose friends who support a tobacco-free lifestyle.

Quitting Tobacco Use

There are good reasons for quitting tobacco use.

Health care professionals can help tobacco users find the resources they need to successfully quit using tobacco.

Quitting Tobacco Use

Teens who use tobacco give these reasons for quitting:

They begin to have health problems, such as asthma, coughing, or respiratory infections.

They realize the high cost of tobacco or find it difficult to purchase tobacco products if they are under 18.

They realize that using tobacco can lead to other risky behaviors, such as the use of alcohol and other drugs.

They understand the damaging effects of secondhand smoke and do not want to harm others.

They feel more powerful because they are not controlled by an addiction to nicotine.

Ending the Addiction Cycle

Symptoms of nicotine withdrawal include irritability, difficulty concentrating, anxiety, sleep disturbances, and cravings for tobacco.

Nicotine withdrawalThe process that occurs in the body when nicotine, an addictive drug, is no longer used

Ending the Addiction Cycle

Smoking while using nicotine substitutes is dangerous due to increased nicotine exposure.

Nicotine substitutesProducts that deliver small amounts of nicotine into the user’s system while he or she is trying to give up the tobacco habit

Getting Help to Quit Tobacco Use

Prepare for the quit day.

Get support and encouragement.

Access professional health services.

Replace tobacco use with healthy behaviors.

Getting Help to Quit Tobacco Use

Seek advice from a doctor, enroll in a tobacco cessation program or join a support group.

Tobacco cessation programA course that provides information and help to people who want to stop using tobacco

Getting Help to Quit Tobacco Use

Health care professionals can help tobacco users find the resources they need to successfully quit using tobacco.

After You ReadReviewing Facts and Vocabulary

Sample answer: Anti-tobacco messages, expense, no smoking policies, positive peer pressure

1. What are four reasons that smoking among teens is on a downward trend?

After You ReadReviewing Facts and Vocabulary

2. List three reasons that you might use to convince a friend to quit using tobacco products.

Sample answer: Cost, health problems, hard to buy

After You ReadReviewing Facts and Vocabulary

3. Why might some people use nicotine substitutes when quitting smoking?

A nicotine substitute delivers small amounts of nicotine into the user’s system while the user is trying to quit a tobacco habit.