Troubled Teen Smoking Statistics

Nowadays, a large number of teens have started smoking, oblivious to the harm they are causing to themselves. Teenagers usually start smoking out of pressure from their friends, for fun, out of boredom or to simply imitate the acts of their parents. No matter what reason they may have; it is never going to be a valid one. Smoking has numerous ill effects, which are even more profound if that person is a teenager. According to recent statistics, approximately 23% of the teenagers smoke. This is a very high rate as these teenagers may ultimately become addicts as adults.

Starting smoking at an early age increases the chances of having profound ill effects, both in the long-run and the short-run. It can affect the normal breathing patterns of a person and ultimately lead to lung dysfunction in the future. Besides this, teenagers who smoke may have poor fitness when it comes to playing. Such teenagers also have an increased chance of having heart disease, gum disease or even vision problems in the future. Therefore, teenage smoking is an issue which needs to be seriously taken by everyone in their vicinity. It is estimated that around 6000 children who are below the age of 18 years start smoking every day.

Parents can play a key role in finding and then stopping their teenage children from smoking. However, parents must first need to find whether their children actually smoke or not. Lower effectiveness and concentration, frequent memory lapses, getting irritated too quickly, constantly perspiring are some of the key symptoms to look out for. Besides these, if the parents succeed in finding some other valid symptom, they must confront the teen immediately. Although confronting the teen can be a difficult job, it is the only way to find out whether they are actually smoking or not.

Teenagers are more prone to getting addicted to cigarettes because it contains nicotine which can actually alter the mood of the person smoking. Nicotine affects the area of the brain which is concerned with producing dopamine; which can significantly alter the mood of a person. Parents need to find out whether their children smoke or not, however, they must refrain from overreacting if they do smoke. They must try to stay calm and to find a solution for the problem. They can seek assistance from a doctor to help the teen quit smoking quickly or enroll them into special quitting programs.