Posts Tagged teen tobacco abuse

Educating Teens: A Tool to Help Reduce Tobacco Use

Posted by Drug Free in Raising Healthy Kids, Tobacco Abuse on May 12th, 2011

In Montana, officials, school authorities and parents are doing what they can to help keep children and adolescents stay away from tobacco use. The Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services together with concerned citizens have launched programs to discourage tobacco use through Quit Line and reACT.

teen smokingYet this joint effort is easily toppled by tobacco manufacturers, with the amount they spend on advertising almost four times more than what the state spends on anti-tobacco programs. Leading tobacco company R.J. Reynolds in Montana claims that the target group of their product is the adult user, and that there’s nothing they could do if teens somehow get hold of their cigarettes.

According to reACT Youth Empowerment Coordinator Erin Kintop, tobacco industries are simply using more of the addictive component in their products to have more users and to be able to gain large margins of profit. This is why there is a need for proper education of teens regarding the harmful addictive quality of cigarettes before they begin experimenting. Reaching out to the youth before addiction sets in is the most effective way to discourage them from using tobacco.

For officer Noal Petty of the Helena Police School Resource Department, peer pressure plays a big role on why teens are tempted to smoke. Anytime a teenager is with friends, he or she can be easily pushed to take on the plunge and be addicted to cigarettes. He agrees that educating the youth and information drive efforts are very critical.

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How to Get Drug Addicted Teens Into Rehab

Posted by Drug Free in Alcohol Abuse, Drug Abuse Treatment, Drug Addiction, Drug Rehabilitation, Tobacco Abuse on April 17th, 2011

Drug addiction is one problem that most families dread. Today’s changing times have made it even more difficult for teenagers to say no to this dangerous habit, and sometimes they get hooked with drugs no matter how school and parents try to educate them.

teen drug abuseIf this situation ever comes in the family, they would have to adopt measures to treat kids of drug and alcohol addiction. When it becomes too hard to deal with the problem by yourselves, you can always enlist the aid of rehab facilities. Within these institutions, the needs and concerns of drug addicted teens are addressed through the guidance of medical and professional experts.

A child is into drug abuse when he or she uses illicit substances (for teens, alcohol and tobacco are still illegal) for purposes not related to health development. Drug abuse can easily turn into drug addiction. When a person becomes an addict, he or she becomes physically and psychologically dependent on any drug. An individual makes decisions based on his cravings and are into activities where drugs are included. This is the time when a drug rehab is crucial.

The hardest task comes in when you would have to convince your child to get into rehab. Before anything else, parents need to confront their kids on their drug addiction. As parents, you should expect denials as kids will just say they’re fine and will not own up to their mistakes. It’s up to you now to determine the necessary steps that you would have to take to find the remedy to your child’s problem. Families should act fast regarding drug addiction; every second counts and the need to control long-term damage is pivotal.

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Early Smoking Leads to Reduced Brain Activity

Posted by Drug Free in Tobacco Abuse on March 10th, 2011

Teenage smoking can cause reduced brain activity and could lead to poor decision-making. These were the findings released by a team from the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA led by Professor Edythe London, together with researchers from the University of Texas.

teenage smokingThe team formed a group of 50 members aged 15 to 21. Among the group, 25 were non-smokers and another 25 were smokers. Their smoking habit was measured according to their own Heaviness of Smoking Index (HIS) which the team used for their own study. The HIS indicates the amount of cigarettes used up by the individual and at what period he or she begins smoking each day.

These participants were made to perform under the Stop-Signal Task (SST) test, wherein each person is subjected to a push-the-button activity. It may be funny when viewed from the outside but the test has its own way of determining an individual’s brain activity. The data gathered from the SST showed that the more a teen smokes, the lesser brain activity is registered via the pre-frontal cortex; the part of the brain involved in decision-making.

While it may be true that the test data difference between a non-smoker and smoker does not differ so much (close actually), it suggests that brain activity or response of smokers may have been compensated by other parts of the brain instead of having the prefrontal cortex perform the said action on its own, like in the case of non-smokers.

The researchers say that it would be wise for teens to stay away from the smoking habit. It may be that more aggravated symptoms may manifest later in life if they begin smoking at very early ages.

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4 Reasons Why Teens Must NOT Smoke

Posted by Drug Free in Raising Healthy Kids, Tobacco Abuse on February 2nd, 2010

A lot of teens get into smoking thinking that most others do. This is completely inaccurate. Majority of the youth do not smoke, and so if we base being ‘cool’ or not on how prevalent the habit is, avoiding smoking is actually the ‘cool’ thing to do.

There are several reasons why any teen should not smoke, not even try to. Studies have already established that even the first puff of smoke can already trigger a series of damaging reactions in the body. Here are some of the reasons you should stay away from smoking:

no smoking1.  Unhealthy skin. Smoking restricts blood vessels, thereby preventing the transport of oxygen and nutrients to the skin. This results to pale and unhealthy skin.  A study has also established a link between increased risk of developing psoriasis, a type of skin disease, and smoking.

2. Lower physical stamina and increased risk of injury. Carbon monoxide not only robs your skin but also your muscles, brain and other body tissues of oxygen. This makes your heart, lungs and the rest of the body work harder. Smokers usually find a hard time competing with non-smoking peers because of rapid heartbeat, decreased circulation and shortness of breath.

3. Bad breath and body odor. Most smokers develop a condition called halitosis, or persistent bad breath. Also, the smell of cigarette and its smoke tends to stay on one’s hair, clothes and skin.

4. Smoking kills. Lung cancer is one of the top preventable cancers in the world. Not smoking significantly decreases risk of lung cancer. Aside from lung cancer, smoking also causes several other serious diseases like heart attack, stroke, emphysema, pregnancy complications, and other cancers.

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Teenage Smoking Is Not Cool!

Posted by Drug Free in Raising Healthy Kids, Tobacco Abuse on January 13th, 2010

Peer pressure, low self-esteem and smoking by parents and relatives are some of the factors that encourage teenagers to engage in smoking.  Smoking can even start at pre-teens and has been seen as a way of being accepted and considered ‘cool’.

teen smokingStatistics show that there was a decline in the number of teenagers who smoke — implying that smoking may not be so cool anymore, if it ever was to begin with.  This may be due to the intensive campaign regarding the health effects of nicotine.  The most common consequences range from bad breath and low stamina to chronic diseases like lung and oral cancer. Other than cancer, smoking may cause cardiovascular, respiratory and gastrointestinal diseases like peptic ulcer. Osteoporosis is common to smokers than to non-smoking individuals.

Scientists who studied addiction to smoking learned that nicotine glued itself to a protein found on the surface of a brain nerve cell.  Other chemicals found in cigarettes and tobaccos are known carcinogens like benzene, formaldehyde, carbon monoxide, tar and hydrogen cyanide which are known to be harmful to human health.

Smoking addiction can be prevented through proper education on the health risks of smoking. Parents need to teach teens how to say ‘no’ and also be a role model to children by not smoking. Parents also need to make sure their teenage kids do not have easy access to cigarettes.

It may be more difficult to deal with a teenager who has already started smoking. The best way to handle the situation is to help them quit the habit by introducing them to other worthwhile activities. Giving rewards may also be an excellent way of showing that their achievement is appreciated.

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