Should Smoking Be Raised?

Cigarette companies use trends, age, culture, and other things to hook a person to their product. The companies mainly target teens because of their ignorance and teens who get addicted that young will likely be customers for life. Tobacco is promoted on almost every television network and 1/3 of adolescent experimentation with smoking results from the advertising. (Tobacco Free Broome and Tioga) Not only are cigarettes promoted on TV, but their promoted throughout everyone’s lifestyle. Maybe a role model you have, maybe one of your parents, or maybe a celebrity you enjoy following... any one of these people could smoke and the mindset of many is, “if they’re doing it, so can I”. Mike Magee smoked his first L&M cigarette when he nine years old, his parents smoked and kept cigarettes in the house and therefore they were accessible. He and his siblings said that learning how to smoke was

In the article it explain how raising taxes on cigarettes will benefits teens in the future: “Studies indicate that 90 percent of smokers start as teens. An estimated 17,000 California kids get hooked on smoking and one-third of them will eventually die from a tobacco-related illness. In every other state that has raised the tobacco tax, smoking rates have gone down among teens” (Western Dental Joins California Health Leaders Supporting Proposition 56). Most people would agree that habits are formed at young age, and we all know that bad habits are hard to quit, specially those that creates addiction such as cigarettes. If the price of cigarettes is raise, teens will not be able to afford them since teens are limited in money which will prevent them from creating that addiction. Also, we will be able to have more control over impulsive teenagers, is not that we are coddling them but rather guide them to do what is right for them and break the cycle of smokers. Furthermore,

When we come to the reality and try to realize how many 18 years old are really responsible for what they are doing, it is obvious to tell they are not mature enough to separate the good from the bad because they can easily be affected by peer pressure at this age. The majority of smokers regret smoking because they started doing it when they were not responsible enough for what they were doing. If people accept any 18 years old smoker as responsible and is able to decide if the cigarette is good or not, why do we find them regretting after 5 years or more? If we increase the minimum age of smoking cigarette to 21, people at least might know what they are doing because they are mature enough to decide what to do for the rest of their life; 3 years difference between 18 and 21 is a lot to learn from life. As a result we might decrease the number of new smokers because they will have full potential to decide what to do at this age than 18 years old.

I also have observed the patients of cardio vascular diseases. According to my personal observations, about 79% patients were early smokers who start to smoke at age 16 or less than 18. So that is why I also personally believe that we should take some serious steps to protect our young generation from getting involved in bad habit of smoking. I think that increasing the minimum legal age to 21 years for smoking will be a good step in this regard.

According to Joshua Berlinger and Andy Rose, ever since California raised the smoking age to 21 there has been a quarter-million premature deaths and 50,000 fewer deaths from lung cancer. The smoking age should be increased to 21 in all states because it would save many more lives and it would be harder for teens to get tobacco and vapor products.

Reducing the percentage of smoker is not the main reason for raising the smoking age to 21 because researches shows that the young adult brain develops between 18 and 21, which is highly susceptible to nicotine addiction (Morris). According to Ferguson, he says, “The damage tobacco does to the lives and health of Washingtonians is devastating. Research shows that young adult brains are still developing at the age of 18 and 21, and therefore it is highly susceptible to nicotine addiction. Ferguson adds by saying, “We must do more to protect our youth from tobacco’s grip, and the bill is an important step toward keeping nicotine out

Cigarettes have a big affect on teens, ninety percent of smokers started before 19 and thirty percent of those smokers continue to smoke and die early from a smoking related disease. 1.5 million packs of cigarettes are bought by minors a year. Research has also found out that smokers are more likely to get into fights, carry weapons, attempt suicide, suffer from mental health and depression.

The people that say smoking shouldn’t be raised to the age of 21 have a main argument of when you turn 18, you should be able to do whatever you want. They also said that even if the smoking age would change,

Teens smoking has been a public concern for centuries. In a recent article published earlier this year by Fox News, highlighted the rate and risk of teens smoking and the rise of e-cigarettes. One of the main question posed was, why do teens smoke? There is no definite answer,however; a few intelligible explanation has been given. Biology and developmental vulnerability are the few partially reason given. Biology studies shows that, until in their 20s and adolescents Brain is not equate enough to measure and assess assess race and long-term consequences.one reason is that teen are very vulnerable,which makes them an ideal target for cigarrette companies. luckly the federal government has set strict rules that limit tobacco companies who sets

Ouellette's recognizing the dire and effects of smoking and wanting to prevent them illustrates the massive leap in science. Ouellette's desire to change the age will not only help adolescents physically but mentally. There has been a drastic change in the way the media presents smoking. Nowadays there are a lot of anti-smoking ads. However, teenagers will still smoke regular cigarettes or use e-cigarettes since they are not like "real" and assume they offer no negative effects. I find smoking unappealing, but I know others my age will still be tempted to try. I don't know if raising the purchase age will keep those who are determined to smoke from doing so, but the change will make it more difficult. I think a person dying from smoking is a needless expense, so I advocate Ouellette's

How can people give teens a pack of cigarettes if they aren't even old enough to make good decisions? Society should change the smoking age requirement from 18 to 25. The minimum legal age to buy cigarettes varies from country to country. Mostly 18 is the minimum age requirement and is better to raise the age for all United States nationwide. Changing the smoking age requirement will not only save teens from making bad decisions but will decrease the number of smokers around the world.

The most obvious problem of underage smoking is definitely that it can affect the health of smokers and other people around them. According to the American Lung Association, “smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the U.S.” (Health Effect, 2015). It causes over 438,000 deaths per year. Secondhand smoke is a serious health hazard for people of all ages, causing almost one tenth of the smoking death each year (Leatherdale et al, 2011). Although underage smoking might not cause an immediate and obvious health problem, in the future, it will hurt the smokers as well as the people around them (Qi, 2015).

Teenage smoking can be a result of the influence of other teens, or maybe the amount of peer pressure. This can cause a teen to want to smoke or even think about smoking (Alcid, Arthur, page 1). Statistics show that 794 student and 22.4 percent of teens claimed to be tobacco users. (Alcid, Arthur, page 1). Teens tend to be more abrasive when smoking, and seem to act different while smoking and once they have gotten into the habit of smoking make it a constant thing. In 2003, 21.9 percent of high school students currently smoke cigarettes (Alcid, Arthur, page 1).

One of the largest issues today is adolescent smoking. According to a heath based website, nearly 90% of adult smokers start while they are still teens and they never intend to get hooked. They may start by bumming a cigarette or two from a friend at a party, and then go on to buying an occasional pack. Soon they realize that they can't go without that pack. They've gotten used to reaching for a cigarette first thing in the morning, after meals, or during any stressful time. They become addicted, both physically and psychologically. According to the American Lung Association, each day 6,000 children under the age of 18 smoke their first cigarette. Almost 2,000 of them will become regular smokers – that’s 757, 000 new smokers annually!

The author Rachel Kranz in “Straight Talk About Smoking,’ states, “Smoking more means that Lynette has less to spend on pizza and after-school snacks, because she’s got to make sure she can afford three or four packs of cigarettes each week.” (Kranz). Peer pressure to smoke can also be a way of teenagers proving that they are mature. Maturity is something that all teenagers have been told to obtain; especially by adults. The legal smoking age in most states is twenty-one, and most adults do smoke. Teenagers think that they can feel more grown up when they smoke and fit in society. Kaz Vorpal in the book of “Teen Smoking,’” states, “Adults do certain things, and therefore children who do those things feel they are more like grownups.” (Vorpal 66). Movies also contributes to teen smoking by portraying smoking as a cool, pleasurable, and harmless thing. All these factors give the teen a pressure to start smoking and never realize that the Nicotine that is found in the cigarette is addictive and causes major health problems like cancer.