SMOKING

AND ITS
RISKS
For young people and adolescents

By Elina Bir, Shirley Xu and Sylvia Hu –

ABOUT SMOKING
According to the World Health Organisation, there are 1
billion people in this world who smoke, and of them, 5
million die every year. But what makes smoking so bad
for you and your body? And if it is so bad, why do people
do it?
 Smoking increases the CO2 content in your body, which
can lead to many circulatory problems and also affect
many of the other organs of the body (see long term
effects)
 The reason why most people, and particularly
adolescents, get into smoking is peer influence. They
may have parents of friends who smoke so it would be
quite likely for them to start smoking too.
 Others may say that they just one to try it, or they
think that it’s just ‘cool’.

POTENTIAL RISKS
OF SMOKING
There are many potential risks of
smoking, especially for those who start
smoking at a very young age. They all
heavily affect you health and can cause
addiction and be the cause of you taking
up other risks
Health:
 Smoking at a young age depreciates the health of your
organs, and if it happens so in such a young age, then it can
also limit the growth of your organs. All organs are affects by
smoking, but especially those in your respiratory system.
 84% of the deaths from lung cancer are due to smoking
 Smoking during childhood and adolescence also causes a
range of immediate health problems, as well as laying the
foundation for the development of serious disease in
adulthood. It can also shorten your life span
Addiction:
 The drug inside tobacco that people are addicted to is called
nicotine. Just like with other addictions, people who are
addicted to cigarettes have a compulsive need to smoke.
 Once you get addicted, quitting can be an extremely difficult
task for the smoker, both mentally and emotionally
Other Risks
 Teens and adolescents who smoke are more likely to introduce
themselves to other harmful risks such as drugs and alcohol,
which also come with their own risks.
SHORT TERM
EFFECTS
 The short term of effects of smoking are those which occur quite
soon after smoking. There effect may not last too long, but can be
repetitive and potentially lead to long term effects (see next slide).
 Some of the short term effects of smoking cigarettes include:

1. Dizziness

2. Decreased blood flow to fingers and toes

3. Increased blood pressure and heart rate

4. Bad breath

5. Nausea, abdominal cramps and vomiting

6. Headache

7. Decreased appetite

8. For some: feelings of relaxation and euphoria

 LONG TERM
Organ
Affecting
Effects Organ
Affecting
Effects
EFFECTS
 Long term effects can impact
Eye: Eye cataracts, Stomach: Stomach and one’s life very heavily as they
macular bladder cancers, usually stay with you forever.
degeneration and stomach ulcers The long term effects of
yellowing of eyes smoking heavily impact your
body and your life.
Mouth/Teeth: yellow teeth, Skin: Grey appearance
tooth decay and and early  Some of the major long term
bad breath wrinkles effects include:
Lungs: Shortness of Female: Irregular periods,
breath, coughing, lower fertility
chronic bronchitis and higher
and asthma chance of
miscarriage
Heart: Heart disease, Male: Damaged or
blockages in reduced sperm
blood supply, high
blood pressure
and leukemia
SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC
CONSEQUENCES
Social Consequences of
Smoking
 Smoking does not only affect the
smoker itself, but is also harmful to the
society as a whole
 Second hand smoking affects everyone
around you - family, friends smoking). It
is just as harmful as directly smoking a
cigarette
 1 in 100 people die every year due to
secondhand smoking. That’s
approximately 2.5 million people dying
every year due to secondhand smoking.
Economic Consequences of
Smoking
 Smoking and tobacco causes poverty among
its users and can put many people in debt.
 Loss of productivity due to bad health –
smokers tend to have 50% more days off
from work than non-workers due to ill health
from smoking
 Deforestation – 200 000 ha of forests and
woodlands are cut down each year because
of woodlands are cut down each year
because of tobacco farming
 Cigarette taxes are regressive (making it
worse for the poor people)
FINANCIAL AND LEGAL
CONSEQUENCES
Financial Consequences of
Smoking
 Smoking can be very expensive
(cigarettes) and for some, a motivation to
quit.
 A 25 pack of cigarettes will generally cost
around $25-$35, depending on the
brand. This could cost you so much
when looked at on a yearly basis.
 There are so many things that the money
wasted in smoking could go towards
 As a smoker, you are also charged higher
rates for your health and insurance
policies due to the increased risk of
illnesses
Legal Consequence of Smoking
 It is illegal for anyone to buy tobacco
products if they are under the age of 18
(minor)
 If a police officer finds out that you are
a minor and have a possession of
cigarettes, or any other tobacco
products, they will be confiscated from
you and maybe even fined
 It is illegal to smoke in a smoke-free
area. This includes places such as
shopping centers, restaurants, schools,
public transport, hospitals and many
more.
  https://www.nhs.uk/smokefree/why-quit/smoking-hea
lth-problems
- Potential dangers of smoking – statistics
 http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2010/11/26/secondhan
d-smoke-kills-600000-worldwide-annually/
- Smoking kills - statistics
 https://www.swedish.org/classes-and-resources/smokin
g-cessation/financial-physical-and-social-costs-of-s
moking
- Financial and social consequences of smoking
BIBLIOGRAP  https://www.mydr.com.au/addictions/smoking-what-ar
e-the-effects
HY - Short and long term effects of smoking
 https://young.scot/choices-for-life/articles/smoking-a
nd-the-law/
- Legal consequences of smoking
 https://au.reachout.com/articles/how-to-quit-smoking
- About smoking - general info

https://www.lung.org/stop-smoking/smoking-facts/heal
th-effects-of-secondhand-smoke.html
- Secondhand smoking statistics
 https://www.who.int/tobacco/communications/events
/en/tob_pov_economics.pdf
- Social consequences of smoking
 Google Images – images and diagrams
CONCLUSION
 Overall, smoking comes with many
negative risks that can harm both your
mental and physical health. You can be
impacted with a range of short term
effects, such as dizziness, headache
and nausea, and long term effects,
including many types of cancers and
chronic diseases. Smoking also brings
multiple social, economic, financial and
legal consequences of smoking that
can effect your quality of life
negatively, especially for those who
start smoking as adolescents.