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Social Consequences Of Teen Smoking In The United States

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Social Consequences Of Teen Smoking In The United States
Teen smoking is a very real issue. Although the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) report that teen smoking is down since the 1990s, the problem has remained relatively stable throughout the 2000s. Teen smoking still affects 54 percent of high school students, and one in three who start smoking as a teen will die later of smoking related causes.
It is very important to prevent teen smoking. But in order to do that, one must first understand why many teens start smoking in the first place.
Causes of teen smoking
There are different reasons why teenagers start smoking. Very few of them start with the idea that they will keep smoking. Indeed, the CDC reports that only three out of 100 high school students that smoke think that they will still be
…show more content…
For some teens, these social consequences may be more concerning than the health ones. Keep reading for more on the social consequences of smoking.

Social Consequences of Smoking

Smoking is marketed to young people as being a cool thing to do. The media often portrays tough or attractive people smoking, though this trend has been changing in recent years. More people are beginning to realize now that smoking has a negative impact on their social lives and opportunities, and this is why many young people choose not to smoke or want to quit. In fact, teens who realize that smoking affects their social life by driving away friends or dating partners are more likely to quit smoking.
Some of the negative social consequences of smoking are based on what smoking does to the person's body. Tobacco can:
• Stain teeth yellow. It can be expensive to try to whiten teeth stained by smoking. Having yellow teeth makes a person look older and is unattractive to others.
• Stain fingernails and skin. People can develop yellow fingernails and skin from smoking, which also makes them look unhealthy and

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