COMMENTS/AGREE

COMMENT ON THE 2 DISCUSSIONS BELOW:

Look at the current statistics on smoking per the CDC report which includes tobacco, e-cigs, hookahs and smokeless tobacco:

https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/youth_data/tobacco_use/index.htm
(Links to an external site.)

Overall, there has been a decrease in smoking from 2011-2017. Nonetheless, there are significant issues.

Discuss the following:

What factors attributed to this decrease?

In your own opinion, how could we reduce this percentage even further?

What are the current temptations amongst young smokers and, how can we further reduce these temptations?

1 DISCUSSION:

I enjoyed learning about some of the factors that contributed to the decrease of tobacco. Increasing the costs for tobacco products would be an effective way to help decrease the use of tobacco. It would less accessible to middle and high schoolers because, at that age, you don’t usually make enough money to buy their own tobacco. I also believe raising the minimum age of sale for tobacco products to 21 years would help. It would make it lot harder for adolescents to have access to it. Prohibiting smoking in indoor areas of workplaces and public places because teens like to have fun. It would distract adolescents from wanting to get high because they are focusing on having fun and hanging out with their friends.

Another way we can reduce the percentage is asking for ID when tobacco is purchased. I feel that raising the age will lower but the percentage because now-a-days children look a lot older than they actually are.

Most of the time, children are tempted to be like everybody else or wanting to be “down” with certain crowds. I love the suggestion of community programs and school and college policies that encourage tobacco-free places and lifestyles. When you introduce a different way of living to students, they often tend to be influenced to something what would be considered a “better lifestyle.” I think that TV and radio commercials, posters, and other media messages aimed at kids and teens in order to counter tobacco product ads. A lot of teenagers are influenced by what they see on tv and social media. By advertising the side effects of tabacco, it can help teens understand why making it a habit is not worth it.

2 DISCUSSION:

What factors attributed to this decrease?

According to the CDC some of the factors that attributes to the decrease in smoking in youth from 2011- 2017 are higher costs of tobacco products, prohibiting smoking in indoors areas of workplace and public places, raising the minimum age for of sale of tobacco to 21 years, community programs, schools and colleges that encourages tobacco free places and lifestyles ,being a part of a religious group, community programs that lowers tobacco advertising, promotion and helping to make tobacco products less available. According to the CDC about 1600 young people under the age of 18 years old smoke their first cigarette and nearly 200 begin smoking daily I would encourage youth to encourage each other through peer groups. try educating them on the importance of not smoking and how to protect their lungs and make places available for the youth to talk freely and more openly to adults, to provide a safe place that allows them to talk about their depression or mental illness and the different aspects of what is happening in their life and to be more active in school and in their academic education. The current temptation amongst young smokers are peer pressure from their peers and the different cigarette ads that encourage smoking we can reduce the temptation by having open discussions with youth through our communities, schools, churches and in our home but sometimes it is hard in the home because maybe one of your parents smoke but they will still encourage their child to stop smoking.