How Peers Influence Tobacco Use

Studies have shown that 9 out of 10 tobacco smokers first attempted smoking by 18 years of age while greater than 3,200 American youths aged 18 years and below smoked their first cigarette, and 2100 youths and young adults became addicted users (4). However, this has reportedly led American middle and high school youths to become susceptible to one form of tobacco products or the other and are at higher

Most often seniors in high schools can purchase cigarettes because they are 18, so they distribute them to underclassmen or friends. Nearly 21 percent of high schoolers in public schools smoke cigarettes, which would be about 3.13 million students (Preidt). My survey shows that only four percent, or two out of 49 people admit their addiction to cigarettes. The two students admitted that stress is their reasoning for why they began smoking and continue, but only one has support to end their need to smoke. While the student with assistance is continuing to smoke, they are attempting to stop; however, the effects of smoking are obviously severe (lung disease, cancer, bronchitis, etc.) and cannot continue. Cigarettes may be a partial stress reliever although the permanent and long-term effects should be proof enough that this addiction is a necessity to prevent in our high schoolers even if it is four

The extent to which tobacco advertising contributes to the increase in smoking habits has been debated and still is being debated. The focus is heavily on the degree to which the advertising affects adolescents. Previous research which is explored above, suggests significant relationships between smoking behavior among youth and these advertisements. Tobacco companies on the other hand, have tried to prove their ads are not directed towards our youth. Specifically, the R.J. Reynolds tobacco company has run full page ads in national magazines advising youth to not smoke. They have asserted

Although, the campaign had a significant decrease in the rates of smoking in adolescents, a survey conducted haphazardly in 2005 illustrated that smokers in secondary schools were 19% boys and 17% girls (which smoked prior to the week of conducting the survey) (Woods, 2009). Therefore, the “Smarter than Smoking” campaign has performed various interventions from the year 2005 onwards, to further decrease the numbers of smokers in the adolescent population (STS, 2009).

The results showed that white students who had friends that smoked are most likely to also smoke compared to non-white students. In conclusion they focused on the relationship between the children and their parents. In indivualistic cultures teens will rebel against there parents which often showed children smoking and in some collectivist culture children will not rebel

This theory supports the issue that young people may not think a risk is a great as it actually is (Weinstein, 1980). A study carried out by Arnett (2000) found that both adult and adolescent smokers and non-smokers agreed that smoking is

Your biopsychosocial model was really nice. I found it very insightful. This model shows us how biophysical, psychological and social factors are interconnected to each other and have high impact on smoking in adolescences. I do agree with you that socioeconomic status play a vital role on smoking. The strength of the relationship between socioeconomic status and smoking is very evident. And a gradient still exist between SES and health, when looking just at nonsmokers or just at smokers.1 Prevention strategies to prevent smoking in adolescent should be focus on primary prevention. Because most smokers pick up the habit, while still in their teens.1 So, it is important to focus of primary prevention is to reduce initiation of tobacco use

Studies have identified a greater contingency of persistent smokers in those who currently reside with a smoker or have a relative who smokes (Moyse, 2009). Moyse (2009) states peer pressure is particularly influential for young people who may hold the opinions of others in high esteem. Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] (2015) states that tobacco companies in the United States spend more than $9.6 billion in tobacco advertisements. More than 50% of their advertising is spent on targeting youth, such as through the development of candy and fruit-flavored nicotine vapors for e-cigarettes (CDC, 2015). According to the Hawaii Department of Health [DOH] (n.d.) the number of U.S. youth who had never smoked a cigarette but used electronic cigarettes tripled between 2011 and

Furthermore, in USA, nearly one of every five deaths is caused by tobacco. However, 32.9 percent of full time college students between 18 to 22 years old has smoke in the previous 30 days in 2001 and according to (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2002) for the young adults the rate was higher that is 44.6 percent. Thus half of Adolescents who have already smoke 100 cigarettes or even more will smoke for at least 16-20 years (Pierce and Gilpin 1996)

With the young female, the proportion of girls interested in smoking experienced the same increase as the male counterpart in the first 20 years of the given period, which rose from 5% to 37% in the year of 1990. In the last 10 years of the surveyed period, which was from

A person’s social context affects many aspects of their lives, including the usage and non-usage of tobacco (Poland et al, 2006). An individual’s social context includes the following: race, gender, resources, education, income, neighborhood, employment, occupation and many more aspects of their environment (Hints). Tobacco use and social context go hand and hand as one affects the other since there is high relevance between the two (Poland et al, 2006). In order to see the broader dilemma of tobacco use, society must incorporate and examine the larger picture of how an individual’s environment plays a major role in tobacco use (Poland et al, 2006). Uneven social and geographic distribution of resources in society contributes to tobacco

At the age of fourteen, I had my first puff of smoke. Even before that I knew

Beti Thompson, Anne L. Thompson, Jennifer Hymer, and Susan Zbikowsi conducted and wrote the study “A Qualitative Study of Attitudes, Beliefs, and Practices Among 40 Undergraduate Smokers” published in the Journal of American College Healthy, 2007. This study had aimed discern more information about the perspectives of college-age smokers. Studies are done in subjugation of smokers to understand what may influence this unhealthy behavior, as in all psychology: understanding the root and trigger of a problem may bring the solution. This study has specifically focused on the college-age population of smokers in an aim to understand the cause and cessation of smoking cigarettes. In result, the study has concluded that college-age smokers are in their prime to be influenced by their environment into either picking up smoking as a habit or putting it down. The study had strong uses of qualitative questioning in the interviews, which allowed for adequate descriptive responses to be taken. However, one of the weakness of this study would be the limited sample size.

Nowadays students are not only being pressured to smoke by their peers and by their surrounding, but they are also watching their parents smoke. Many teens have been influenced by

Tobacco; one of the most profitable products in history, an addictive substance, and a deadly killer. Smoking tobacco used to be a thing that was endorsed in American society. Now, with the new medical advances and knowledge, society has seen the side effects of smoking and how fatal it actually is. Teenagers have been one of the largest age groups that have been affected by smoking. After analyzing all possible reasons as to why teenagers would smoke while knowing it can affect their health, three possible reasons stuck out the most. Teenagers smoke despite knowing the health problems that originate from smoking because of peer pressure, an “invincibility” mentality, and seeing a role model or family member smoke.