Schuetz

Some kids think smoking cigarettes is cool. They smoke because their parents, siblings, and friends smoke. Girls may smoke in an effort to lose or control weight. Kids who feel a need to rebel may also smoke. But smoking cigarettes is not cool, it is harmful to health. Share these cigarette facts with your kids.

* Cigarette smoke contains more than 4,000 chemicals and 60 of them -- including ammonia, carbon monoxide, and tar -- cause cancer. Source: American Cancer Society.

* The nicotine in cigarettes is very addictive. Teens become addicted to cigarettes faster than adults. Source: www.mayoclinic.com/health/teen-smoking/QZ00040.

* Flavored cigarettes, called bidis and kreteks, contain more nicotine, carbon monoxide, and tar than regular cigarettes. Source: www.mayoclinic.com/health/teen-smoking/QZ00040.

* Smoking cigarettes makes your breath, hair, and clothes smell. You become a walking stink bomb. Source: American Cancer Society.

* Cigarettes wear away tooth enamel, cause cavities (due to the sugar in cigarettes), and make your gums recede. The brown tobacco leaves stain your teeth brown. Source: www.quittobacco.com/facts/effects.htm.

* Smoking cigarettes deadens your sense of taste. The food you eat, including the pizza you love so much, won't taste as good. Source: www.quittobacco.com/facts/effects.htm.

* Breathing is harder when you smoke cigarettes. Even if you are trained runner you will be short of breath. Smoking and sports don't mix. Source: Centers for Disease Control.

* Chronic smokers develop lung cancer, heart disease, and stroke. Cigarettes also cause cancer of the larynx, esophagus, and mouth. Source: Partnership for a Drug-Free America.

* Smoking cigarettes will shorten your life. If you become a chronic smoker and smoke a pack a day you shorten your life by seven years. Source: Centers for Disease Control.

According to the American Cancer Society cigarettes harm nearly every organ in the body. Cigarettes are a gateway drug. Kids who smoke cigarettes are more likely to use alcohol, marijuana, and cocaine. Talk to your kids about the dangers of cigarettes. Tell them to say no to smoking and yes to health.

Copyright 2006 by Harriet Hodgson

http://www.harriethodgson.com

Harriet Hodgson has been a freelance nonfiction writer for 28 years. She is a member of the Association of Health Care Journlaists and the Association for Death Education and Counseling. Her 24th book, "Smiling Through Your Tears: Anticipating Grief," written with Lois Krahn, MD, is available from http://www.amazon.com A five-star review of the book is posted on Amazon. Another review is posted on the American Hospice Foundation Website under the "School Corner" heading.