As adults and health professionals, addressing teens and smoking is a very tricky situation. Waving the ‘you will die, get cancer, spend too much money’ flag is a definite head bobber for most kids, but still, here we are attempting to educate and inform you on this issue.

As a health centre that focuses on teens only, we still do not have a magic solution to get teens to quit smoking. The only thing we can continue to do is to arm teens with information in order to make healthy choices.

With a harm reduction philosophy, we can only hope that teens that smoke will cut down on the number of cigarettes and move towards quitting. For teens that do not smoke, the Teen Health Centre hopes to provide enough information to prevent the start of smoking.

What you need to know about tobacco:

Tobacco and Athletic Performance

• Nicotine in cigarettes, cigars and spit tobacco is addictive

• Nicotine narrows your blood vessels and puts added strain on your heart

• Smoking wrecks lungs and reduce oxygen available for muscles used during sports

• Smoking shortens your breath 3 times more than often than non smokers

• Smokers generally run slower and not as far as non-smokers

• Smoking affects overall athletic performance

• Cigars and spit tobacco are not safe alternatives

Tobacco and Personal Appearance

• Tobacco smoke makes your hair and clothes stink

• Tobacco stains teeth and causes bad breath

• Short-term use of spit tobacco can cause cracked lips, white spots, sores, and bleeding in your mouth

• Surgery to remove oral cancers caused by tobacco use can lead to serious changes in the face

What you can do

• Know the facts: tobacco use is the single most preventable cause of death causing heart disease, cancers and stroke

• Get involved in other activities: make friends, develop athletic skills, be independent, be cool, play sports

• Don’t ‘burn’ your money on cigarettes. Spend it on CD’s clothes, computer games and movies

• Get active in trying to promote smoke free sporting events at school, smoke free homes and cars

• Become more aware of those people around you who do NOT smoke

Facts

• Only 22% of the population smoke

• 73% of teens are trying to quit smoking

• Teen smoking is also on the rise. 34% of high school student’s smoke, therefore, 5 million of today’s youth will die prematurely from smoking-related illnesses.

• Tobacco is considered a gateway drug to marijuana and cocaine use

• If teens do not smoke by age 18, they are more likely to not start smoking

If you or someone you know needs help with their tobacco use, call the Teen Health Centre 253-8481. Our medical staff can assist you on an individual basis.