By Lucas and Will

 Tobacco smoking can be defined as: Inhaling smoke from prepared burned dried leaves of the tobacco plant, mostly in the form of cigarettes. Nicotine, the main ingredient in cigarettes, is highly addictive and can be difficult to give up. With this health behaviour, tobacco smoking is a major risk factor for ill health and disease.

 Tobacco smoking is the largest single cause of ill health and preventable death in Australia. Tobacco use leads most commonly to diseases affecting the heart, liver and lungs, with smoking being a major risk factor for heart attacks, strokes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Tobacco smoking negatively affects a youth’s physical health. It has the potential to increase the level of disease. The decrease of the efficient functioning of the bodily systems.

 Smoking can affect the mental health of a youth both positively and negatively, but there is greater negative affect on mental health. The positive way smoking affects mental health is it is supposed to bring in temporary relief from the stresses and strains of life Smoking can also make a youth feel anxious or depressed and think about suicide more often. This impacts on a negative self esteem. Smoking can reduce how well a person can function with their thoughts, feelings and behaviours.

 Smoking can impact both positively and negatively on a youth. It can allow them to develop friendships and fit in to social events. On the other hand, smoking affects social heath negatively as smoking is shunned by most people and social groups. Smoking can cause rejection and exclusion within social groups, which may be because a smoker is not behaving a socially acceptable manner.

 Smoking can directly impact negatively on your growth spurt. Motor skills can also be affected because if a youth spends most of his/her time smoking rather than practicing important motor skills, then that person will lack in specific motor skills.

 Smoking impacts negatively on a youth’s intellectual development. It has the ability to decrease the functioning of their brain. It can also decrease the ability to reason and plan for the future as the brain can be completely abused by the tobacco.

 The impact of tobacco smoking on your emotional development can impact on the way a person expresses their emotions. However, smoking can increase a youth’s self esteem and self image

Smoking can impact poorly on social development. Smokers often feel left out of social events. Adults make them feel isolated at times.  It may be harder for them to gauge and understand, to learn new vocabulary.

 Risk factor: An element that contributes to ill health and disease  Physical Environment - Not having access to recreational facilities. Meaning they don't have many options to chose from for recreational fun.  (Social determinant) Peer influence can act as a risk factor because chances are that if your friends smoke, then you will feel abridged to smoke as well to fit in. It’s those that are around you in your community that influence you to smoke. Twelve- year-olds whose parents smoked were more than two times as likely to begin smoking cigarettes on a daily basis between the ages of 13 and 21 than were children whose parents didn't use tobacco.

 Social: Parents and family that don’t smoke, even the community around you, the less people that smoke, the more of a protective factor it provides for youths. If a youth’s parent’s don’t smoke then it strongly encourages them to not smoke,  Behavioural: Choosing to play a lot of sport, and do other activities can provide a protective factor because it can make you more motivated to stay healthy, and not smoke. It also creates options during free time because you have more than just smoking to do.

Quitline is a telephone information and advice or counselling service for people who want to quit smoking. You can phone the Quitline on confidentially from anywhere in Australia for the cost of a local call only.

When you call the Quitline you can arrange to have the Quit Book mailed to you and if you want to talk to someone about quitting, they will give you information on:the best way for you to quit coping with withdrawal symptoms Quit courses and details of local organisations which provide individual help and counselling.

Rights: To access this service, right to confidentiality, to be heard, to be informed, a choice. Responsibilities: To provide accurate and complete information, ask questions and discuss concerns.