Substance Abuse

As you grow older, the pressure to smoke, drink, and do drugs can become increasingly pervasive. Peer pressure and the media often give young people the impression that engaging in such behaviors will make them seem fun, hip, attractive and sexy. However, more often then not, using drugs, alcohol, and tobacco products is more likely to lead to health risks and social problems.

Alcohol and Tobacco: the Most Common Drugs

Although they can be obtained legally, alcohol and tobacco are the two most widely abused drugs used by young people today. For many students, the pressure to smoke and drink is overwhelming. Boredom, curiosity, peer pressure and media influence are all factors that can lead teens to experiment with underage drinking and smoking. However, the risks involved with doing so are very steep.

Smoking: A "Sexy" Habit?

Many young people today are under the impression that smoking will make them seem attractive, cool, tough, rebellious, and fun. Here are some facts and stats (courtesy of the American Cancer Society) that might make you think otherwise.

Cigarette smoking is the main cause of roughly 30% of all cancer-related deaths. It can lead to cancer of the lungs, throat, esophagus, larnyx, and mouth. It is also a significant factor in contributing to the development of other forms of cancer as well.

Cigarette smoking is the cause of 87% of all deaths from lung cancer. Lung cancer is one of the deadliest forms of cancer and is very difficult to treat.

Cancer is not the only disease that smoking can lead to. It is also a significant contributor to heart disease, emphysema, strokes, bronchitis, and other potentially fatal health problems.

Smoking is harmful to women's reproductive systems and has been linked to infertility, miscarriages, premature birth, low birth weight, and is a potential contributor to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) did a study regarding how much life is taken away from the average smoker. Men lose about 13.2 years of their lives and women lose about 14.5 years.

Cigarettes don't just affect the health of the people who smoke them. Each year, secondhand smoke claims the lives of thousands of non-smokers. Roughly 3,000 lung cancer deaths and 35,000-40,000 deaths from heart disease are the results of secondhand smoke exposure.

Cigars are not really any safer than cigarettes. Though cigar smokers have a lower risk of lung cancer than cigarette smokers (because cigar smoke is generally not inhaled), it can still contribute to the disease, as well as other forms of cancer, particularly of the esophagous, larnyx, and oral cavity (mouth, tongue, gums, and lips).

435,000 Americans die each year from using cigarettes and other tobacco products.

Cigarettes kill more people annually than AIDS, suicide, homicide, automobile accidents, alcohol and illegal drug use combined.

Still think smoking seems attractive?

Smoking: Bad for Your Body...and Your Wallet!

If the health risks associated with smoking aren't enough to discourage you from trying it, take into consideration the considerable financial burden that a smoking habit will saddle you with.