Smoking is America’s favorite  pastime. You love smoking and you know why you do it. It’s the reason why you get out of bed in the morning. It’s the reason you sit outside in -20 degree celsius temperatures. It’s the wedge of cheese at the end of long day at work. It’s also the stuff that you dream about. Who cares if it causes cancer, you’ve smoked it since you were 13.
pastime. You love it, you know you do.

On that note, let’s take a look at the top 10 reasons why teenagers choose to light up.

1. Peer Pressure:

Has a friend or classmate has ever pushed you into doing something you don’t want to do? If yes, you’ve experienced  what is known as peer pressure. This is how many kids start smoking. If a popular kid offers you a cigarette, you might think that you’ll become popular if you do what he or she says. When a close friend starts smoking, you many worry that you’ll lose the friendship if you turn your buddy down.

2. Cool:

Smoking a cigarette or a joint is seen as cool in high school. There is always a small group or a crowd that loves to hang out during smoke breaks. Others join in to fit in.

I remember how one of my friends tried to impress with me with his French inhale. This is a very “cool” technique that will prove you are a pot-smoking pro. Simply take a nice hit and then open your mouth (letting the smoke flow out slowly). Then, lightly inhale that smoke through your nose. If done right, the smoke will gradually flow out of your mouth and directly into your nostrils.

3. Parents smoke:

Teenagers are likely to smoke if they see their parents smoke. I’ve seen situations where parents would buy cigarettes for their kids or children steal cigarettes from their parents.

2,800 of  premature deaths were linked to low birthweight, the result of mothers smoking while pregnant. Approximately 2,000 of the deaths were due to sudden infant death syndrome caused by secondhand smoke. Another 1,000 are due to lung infections. 250 die from burns caused by cigarette-produced fires. 14 children die from asthma.

4. Others do it

I’ve heard of the expression where it is alright as long as others do it as well. It is wrong when you’re the only one doing it. This applies to both cigarettes and joints.

5. Addictive

Teenagers begin by having one cigarette and that’s all they plan on having. The nicotine in the cigarettes is addictive and that causes them to smoke daily.