Youngsters Smoking - Why Teenagers Are Particularly Vulnerable

Smoking is a very common habit among teenagers and this has become a major concern in our society. Cigarette smoking is a very dangerous habit and particularly so if the smoker picks up the habit at a very young age when his or her body is still developing. Therefore, it is very important to understand the reasons why teenagers are more vulnerable to tobacco smoking than adults. This enables parents, school authorities and the government to come up with the right solution to this problem.
Most teenagers pick up their first cigarette due to the following reasons:

1. Peer pressure: Teenagers are very susceptible to the desire to look "cool" and fit in with their friends. If they belong to a group of people who smoke regularly, then it is very unlikely that they will stay immune to smoking. In fact, only a person with a great deal of self-confidence will not succumb to the temptation to smoke. This is why school authorities need to improve their supervision to prevent kids from smoking on school campuses.


2. Desire to lose weight: Smoking has the ability to suppress the appetite. As a result, overweight teenagers might turn to smoking in hopes of losing a few pounds.


3. Powerful advertising by tobacco companies: Cigarette companies spend a great deal of money on advertising and they are able to get lots of role models to endorse their products. Kids are absolutely helpless against the media onslaught and they have no idea about the way in which they are manipulated.


4. Exposure to cigarette smoking at home: Kids who grow up at home where adults smoke are very likely to start smoking as well because they consider this to be a normal activity. They are exposed to cigarette smoke for a long time and they also become attracted to its aroma.

Cigarette companies follow a policy of targeting teenage smokers because they are more vulnerable and also because they get addicted very easily. According to a number of studies, young people are far more receptive to the pleasures that nicotine produces. Nicotine, targets the "pleasure" centers of the brain, making the smoker feel relaxed. Further, people who are already undergoing hormonal fluctuations, just as teenagers are, are very likely to get addicted to nicotine. In fact, teenagers who suffer from a lot of anger and depression will easily turn to smoking as an emotional crutch.
There are also many tobacco products that are targeted specifically towards teenagers. Take hookahs, for example. Kids start smoking them because they seem to be a cool thing to do and also because they are not really cigarettes. However, they quickly graduate to smoking

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