Smoking & Nicotine / Question
Published: August 24, 2006
Dear TeenHealthFX,
I know a fair people who go out and get baked, even during school. Pretty much all of my friends go some drug or smoke. Under some peer pressure I decided to smoke. However, I told myself I would only smoke cigars because it's "classy" and has no real negative effects. Am I kidding myself? Or am I sorta right?
Signed: Smoking Cigars
Dear Smoking Cigars,
TeenHealthFX can appreciate how hard it is to resist things like smoking, drinking and drug use when feeling pressured by peers to do so. But try to remember that in the end, it is most important what you feel comfortable doing to your body – after all, you have to live with whatever harm substance use does to your body – your friends do not. If you do not want to smoke or use drugs, it is perfectly fine – and actually admirable – for you to stand up for what you believe in. Think of the strength it takes for someone to stand up to peer pressure – it is hard not to respect that!
FX would also like to point out that smoking cigars is not exactly “classy.” What is classy is not to smell like an ashtray, and to show that you care about yourself and your body in terms of what you are and are not willing to do to it. What is also classy is to stand up for what you believe in.
And do not try and fool yourself that there are no negative effects of smoking cigars. If you compare cigars with cigarettes, they both contain the same harmful toxins and carcinogens, making the differences in health risks as related to the differences in daily use and level of inhalation. While the majority of cigar smokers only smoke occasionally and do not inhale, it does not mean there are no risks associated with cigar use. Negative side-effects are as follows:
- Whether you inhale or not when smoking a cigar, you are at increased risk for developing mouth cancer.
- While someone who smokes the occasional cigar without inhaling may not suffer the health risks associated with smoking a pack of cigarettes a day, the second-hand smoke from a cigar is much more dangerous than that of a cigarette. This is because cigars have more tobacco and burn longer than cigarettes, and therefore give off more environmental tobacco smoke.
- Cigar smoke contains higher concentrations of the carcinogens found in cigarette smoke.
- Tobacco is an extremely addictive substance whether it is found in a cigar or in a cigarette.
For more information on the negative side-effects of marijuana and other drugs, do a search on questions in the “Alcohol, Cigarettes and Drugs” section of the website.
Signed: TeenHealthFX
Smoking is the leading preventable cause of death in this country. More than 400,000 Americans die from tobacco-related causes each year, and most of them began using tobacco before the age of 18.
