Duerksen, S. (1996, February 16). "Teen smokers won’t quit for years." San Diego Union Tribune, p. B2.

OVERVIEW

A new study from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine reports that at least half of today’s teenage smokers will not quit until they are in their mid-30s or older. Elizabeth Gilpin, the study’s co-author, says that smoking for that many years is enough to do serious damage to the lungs, heart, and other body parts.

The smoking picture has improved somewhat because adults have become more aware of the health detriments of tobacco. A generation or two ago, two-thirds of adult smokers carried on the habit long enough to put themselves at risk of cancer, heart disease, emphysema, and other diseases. Today, only one half of the total number of adult smokers smokes that long. Unfortunately, a similar decrease is not being seen among teen smokers; instead, the number of teen smokers has been rising for the past five years.

Researchers had hoped teens would be less likely to smoke for the 15 to 20 years associated with serious health problems. However, the findings of the study show otherwise. By the time they are able to quit, teen smokers will have reached an average age of 33 for males and 37 for females. According to Gilpin, almost all new smokers are under the age of 18. About half of those who smoke for more than 15 to 20 years will die from smoking.

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION AND DISCUSSION

1. What can be done to emphasize the dangers of cigarette smoking to young people?
2. Why do you think smoking is on the rise among young people today?
3. Do you think that 18 is a good minimum age for purchasing cigarettes? Why or why not?
4. What type of anti-smoking message or campaign do you think would gain the attention of young people most effectively?

IMPLICATIONS

1. According to the study, almost all of today’s new smokers are under the age of 18. Factors adding to the problem of teen smoking include peer pressure, the accessibility of cigarettes, and the media’s reinforcement of smoking. Therefore, anti-smoking campaigns should target young people and emphasize the dangers of short-term smoking and the destructiveness of long-term smoking.
2. Spokespeople who suffer emphysema or other smoking-related diseases can be very effective in sharing with young people aware the dangers of smoking. Making study findings such as these available to teens may also help them gain perspective on tobacco’s addictive nature.
3. Cigarettes are very accessible to young people either through vending machines or stores in which the minimum age requirement is not readily enforced. Increased fines for selling to minors should be imposed on store owners and vending machines should be limited to age-restricted areas (i.e., bars or nightclubs where the minimum age for entry is 21).

Sheila Walsh cCYS