1. Miss Gely 7th Grade Health
Tobacco Awareness
Miss Gely
7th Grade Health

2. Extent of Tobacco use in Teens
Every day 3,000 young people become smokers
Of high school students who smoke, 22% report of having started by the 6th or 7th grade
Research shows that the year age group, smokers were far more likely to binge on alcohol, use marijuana, or cocaine.

3. Smoking as a Risk-Factor
Smoking is considered a risk-factor for many diseases that cause serious illness and death.
The top 3 diseases that cause the most deaths in the US all have tobacco use as a major risk factor. These diseases are:
- Heart disease
- Cancer
- Stroke

4. Nicotine
Definition: Is a highly addictive drug that occurs naturally in the leaves of the tobacco plant.
Nicotine is one of the primary substances in tobacco that leads to heart disease and stoke.
It’s a stimulant (speeds up your heart rate)
Causes blood vessels to constrict (blood pressure goes up)
Makes platelets stickier and more likely to clot.

5. Cancer and Tar
There are 4,000 chemicals in every cigarette you smoke. At least 60 are known to cause cancer; many of the others have never been tested for their safety in humans.
The primary carcinogens are the tars. These are heavy particles that remain behind in the lungs when smoke is exhaled. They can cause mutations in the cells that line the lungs that may later turn into cancer.

6. Quick Facts
How old do you have to be to buy cigarettes? Answer: 19 years old
What is environmental tobacco smoke?
Answer: smoke that comes from the tip of a lit cigarette and the smoke that is exhaled from a smoker’s mouth; also called second hand smoke.

7. Cancer and Young People
It may take as long as 15 or more years from the time a cell first becomes cancerous until it grows into a mass large enough to cause symptoms and be detected.
As with heart disease, that means the behaviors we engage in during childhood years may cause cancers many years later.
Warning signs of lung cancer:
Persistent cough
Voice is hoarse
Coughing up blood

8. Other Tobacco Products
1. Chewing Tobacco: placed in the mouth and chewed. Nicotine enters the blood stream through the lining of the mouth.
Brown-stained saliva that must be spit out often.
2. Snuff: flavored powder that does not need to be chewed.
3. Pipe Tobacco
4. Cigars (can contain 7 times more tar and 4 times more nicotine than cigarettes do.)

9. Short-term Effects Worsening of allergies/asthma
More respiratory infections
Lung impairment/shortness of breath
Poor circulation/cold hands and feet
Tobacco stained teeth and fingers
Tobacco smell on breath, hair, clothing
Addiction (short term effect, not long)

10. Nicotine Addiction
Nicotine is described as being more addictive than ‘hard drugs’ like heroin and cocaine. Those who have been addicted to multiple drugs say that nicotine is the toughest one to stop using.
The younger you are, the faster you become addicted. A study of 7th graders who smoked, showed that 1 out of 5 became addicted within the first month.

11. Why People Use Tobacco
Peer Pressure: feeling that you should do something because your friends want you to.
Targeted marketing: advertising aimed at a particular group of people.
Movies: Some movies and TV often make smoking look very glamorous.
Live with Family Members that smoke