Teens and Tobacco

• Most people who begin to smoke do so when they are in their teens

• FACT: 8 out of 10 people who try tobacco will become addicted to it!

• Tobacco contains over 4,000 chemicals• Of those, about 40-60 are known carcinogens• A carcinogen is any agent that is known to

cause cancer

What are some of the harmful in chemicals in tobacco?

Carbon Monoxide- acolorless, odorless gas in tobacco that hops on to red blood cells and takes up space meant for oxygen; thus it prevents the body from getting all the oxygen it needs!

TARTar is a dark, sticky liquid that forms when tobacco burns. It coats the airway tubes and air sacs (alveoli) inside the lungs

NicotineNicotine is the ADDICTIVE chemical in tobacco-this is what gets a smoker hooked. It is a stimulant drug, so it speeds the heart beat and raises blood pressure. It also constricts blood vessels (puts a person at risk for strokes and heart attacks), and causes dizziness, and upset stomach

MethanolA poisonous, liquid alcohol that is known to cause blindness

CyanideA deadly poisonUsed in mining for gold and silver, plus other uses, one being to kill ants or rats- yes, this, too, is found in tobacco!

FormaldehydeAn irritating, acidic gas used in the laboratory as a disinfectant and preservative. Dead animals used in dissections can be preserved with this chemical- and let me tell you, it STINKS! And yes, it is in tobacco……

Tobacco comes in several forms. It can be smoked, inhaled, or chewed. All are harmful..

• Cigarettes- made from shredded tobacco leaves

• Filters in cigarettes do not decrease the amount of many of the harmful chemicals that pass through smoker’s lungs

• Some cigarettes come flavored and smell sweet- these cigarettes have even more nicotine and, tar, and carbon monoxide than regular cigarettes

Cigars and Pipes

• Shredded tobacco leaves are also used in cigars and pipes

• Cigar smoke contains 25 times more carbon monoxide and up to 400 times more nicotine than cigarettes

• People who smoke cigars and pipes are more likely to develop cancers of the lip, mouth, and tongue than nonsmokers are

Smokeless Tobacco

Chewing tobacco and snuff are placed in the mouth, rather than smoked. Snuff may also be inhaled. The nicotine in smokeless tobacco is JUST as harmful and addictive as that in cigarettes.Users of smokeless tobacco are more at risk for cancer of the mouth, esophagus, larynx, and pancreas

Tobacco Harms the Body in so MANY ways

• It affects the Respiratory System• It damages the alveoli (the tiny air sacs) where

oxygen enters body and carbon dioxide leaves the body

• The damage can lead to EMPHYSEMA, a destructive lung disease that destroys alveoli

• It can lead to lung cancer

Alveoli damaged by emphysema do not function well. The person with emphysema suffers. Breathing becomes painful, and more difficult as the disease progresses. There is NO cure for emphysema. You may or may not get this as a smoker, but do you have a crystal ball to know?

Other Effects:

• All forms of tobacco increase the risk of cavities, gum disease and dulls taste buds

• Can cause stomach ulcers• Linked to cancers of the mouth, throat, esophagus,

larynx, pancreas, and stomach• Tobacco reduces the flow of oxygen to the brain,

which can result in a stroke• Can cause bladder cancer• And of course, tobacco is linked to disease

Teens and Tobacco Addiction

• Nicotine is what gets a person HOOKED on tobacco

• Nicotine is as addictive as alcohol, cocaine, and yes, heroin!

• Nicotine addiction leads to more diseases and deaths than all other addictions combined!

AddictionA physical or psychological need for a drug or other substance

WithdrawalA person who is addicted to nicotine finds it VERY difficult to stop using tobacco.Reducing or cutting off the supply of nicotine causes withdrawal.Withdrawal is the unpleasant symptoms that someone experiences when he or she stops using a drug

People going through withdrawal feel anxious, irritable, hungry, depressed, and tired

Physical Dependence

Psychological Dependence

An addiction in which a person believes he or she needs a drug in order to feel good or function normally

An addiction in

which a person’s body feels a chemical NEED for a drug

Psychological Dependence

• The user feels that the tobacco habit is a necessary part of their daily routine.

• They associate tobacco use with pleasurable activities. Until they find habits to replace their use for tobacco, users might find it hard to quit.

PHYSICAL DEPENDENCE

Tobacco users become both psychologically and physically dependent on tobacco habit

-physically- users crave tobacco when their bodies are low on nicotine- this craving is very strong

-They do not feel comfortable until they have another dose of the drug

-When they get the drug they do not feel good for long, they soon feel the need to use tobacco again

TOLERANCE

• The body’s need for larger and larger doses of a drug to produce the same effect

• So someone might smoke a half pack a day and be fine, but after a while the person will need to smoke more to feel the same effects of the nicotine

• This means the person has developed a tolerance for the drug

Secondhand Smoke

• Second hand smoke is environmental smoke, air that has been contaminated by tobacco

• Exposure to second hand smoke causes people to become passive smokers

• Passive smokers are nonsmokers who breathe second hand smoke

• Passive smoking irritates the eyes, nose and throat

Passive Smokers

• Research shows that long-term exposure to secondhand smoke puts a person at risk for the same illnesses that affect smokers, including heart disease and, lung diseases, and respiratory problems

• Many people die each year in the U.S. as a result of passive smoking

Smoke in the Air Can be from mainstream or sidestream smoke

• Mainstream smoke is the smoke that a smoker inhales and then exhales

• Sidestream smoke is the smoke that comes from the burning end of a cigarette, pipe, and cigar

-Sidestream smoke contains twice as much tar and nicotine as mainstream smoke because this smoke enters the air directly from the burning tobacco

Children Whose Parents Smoke

• A woman who uses tobacco during pregnancy seriously endangers the health of her unborn child

• This increases the chance of: low birth weight babies, miscarriages, and still birth

• Babies whose mother’s smoke during and after pregnancy are THREE times more likely to die of SIDS, which stands for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.

• Children of smokers are more likely to experience allergies, asthma, chronic bronchitis, ear infections, and heart problems

Bad Breath