Woodberry County
TOBACCO
“ We are proud to support preventative education for our youth, and we are proud to be a drug free workplace.”
Woodberry County
Sheriff ' s Office
407 7th Street • Sioux City, IA
712-279-6010
Kids, focus your energy towards an ABUSE FREE future and say NO to peer pressures!
˝Kids invest in your future by saying NO to drugs and remaining college bound˝
1-800-579-4425 www. libertynationalonline. com Member FDIC
Mcclintock insurance inc.
“ We are proud to insure a brighter drug free future for our youth!”
908 Pierce St.- Sioux City, IA 712-277-4600
Preventing Tobacco Use Among
Youth and Young Adults
Tobacco Use: A Preventable Epidemic
THE PROBLEM
Today’ s teens and young adults can access information on millions of subjects almost instantly. But many of the same media that warn of the dangers of tobacco use also carry messages that smoking is cool— edgy— adult. That’ s one reason nearly 4,000 kids under age 18 try their first cigarette every day. That’ s almost 1.5 million youth a year. In fact, nearly 9 out of 10 smokers start smoking by age 18, and 99 % start by age 26. On any given day, more than 2,500 youth and young adults who have been occasional smokers will become regular smokers. And at least a third of these replacement smokers will die early from smoking.
The percentage of youth who smoke went down every year between 1997 and 2003.
But since then, the decrease in teen smoking has slowed and the use of some forms of tobacco by youth has leveled out. Today, one out of four high school seniors and one out of three young adults under age 26 are smokers.
THE CAUSES
Young people start using tobacco for many reasons. These are some of the most important:
The Tobacco Industry
Fewer adults are smoking today, both because many have quit and because about half of long-term smokers die from diseases caused by their tobacco use. So, cigarette companies look to young people as replacement smokers. They use a variety of marketing strategies to encourage new consumers to try their products, and to continue using them.
Susceptibility of Youth and Young Adults
Adolescence and young adulthood are the times when people are most susceptible to starting tobacco use. Young people are more vulnerable and more influenced by marketing than adults. They are also more willing to take risks, even with their health. When smoking is portrayed as a social norm among others who are seen as cool, sophisticated, rebellious, or fun-loving, teens often respond by copying the behavior and trying cigarettes themselves. If their friends smoke, or their siblings smoke, they are even more likely to smoke themselves.
And young people are sensitive to nicotine. The younger they are when they start using tobacco, the more likely they are to become addicted to nicotine and the more heavily addicted they will become.
Young people sometimes believe nothing can hurt them. Facts about health problems that could happen in middle age— or even right away— may mean little to them now. Many teens and young adults don’ t realize how addictive nicotine is. Some may have a tough time making healthy choices or sorting out tobacco myths from facts. Others may want to fit in with a group or seem older, edgier, or more socially grounded. And images that encourage tobacco use are everywhere— from the Internet to the movies to big, bright advertisements at convenience stores. All of these factors make youth a prime market for tobacco products.
8 | Iowa- 2014 | abusemagazine. org
Source: www. surgeongeneral. gov