Introduction for Teachers
W There is evidence that smoking is sometimes a first step towards other substance use. Young people age 12-17 who smoke are more than 11 times as likely to use illicit drugs and 16 times as likely to drink heavily as young people who do not smoke. W But the damage is not confined to tobacco that is smoked. Smokeless (chewing) tobacco causes mouth sores and gum disease, even at a young age. Oral and nasopharyngeal cancers are less commonly seen, but can also occur at young ages. Both smoking and smokeless tobacco lead to bad breath, yellowed teeth, stained fingers, dulled taste buds, and a dulled sense of smell. W Of course, the most insidious impact of youth smoking is that those who start smoking at a younger age are more likely than later starters to develop a long-term addiction to tobacco. The younger a person starts, the greater the difficulty in quitting tobacco at a later age. Smoking also has social and economic consequences for young people. W Some of the effects on personal grooming— bad breath, yellowed teeth, and discolored fingers—have already been mentioned. Add to this list the smoky odor in hair and clothing, and burn holes in clothing. Smoking may change social relationships with others, including family, girlfriends or boyfriends, non-smoking friends, teachers, employers, athletic teams and other social groups. There are a host of social consequences related to the act of smoking itself, such as getting punished for breaking school rules, being asked to step outside of restaurants, or getting cited for smoking in a public place. Many of these social consequences may be more immediate, and therefore more important to young people, than the long-term health consequences of tobacco use. W Economically, smoking is an expensive activity. As a daily habit, smoking or chewing tobacco represents a high opportunity cost for young people. At anywhere between $3 and $5 per pack of cigarettes, smoking represents a great deal of foregone savings or purchases of other goods, entertainment or services.
What efforts have been made to change the acceptance of tobacco in our culture? What can we do in the future? The rising prominence of tobacco use in this and other countries has been accompanied by movements that seek to control or restrict this behavior. Some of these earliest movements were based on “moral” or “hygienic” concerns. By the mid 20th century, the anti-tobacco effort began to crystallize around the increasing scientific awareness of the health consequences of smoking. This growing awareness provided the impetus for new antitobacco efforts by government, as well as voluntary agencies such as the American Lung Association, the American Cancer Society and the American Heart Association. Today, these groups, together with a host of academic, educational, professional, legal, private and grassroots organizations play a significant role in the struggles to prevent tobacco use; educate the public; regulate tobacco distribution, sales and marketing; demand moral and financial accountability from tobacco companies for the costs of smoking; fight for non-smokers rights to smoke-free air; craft ordinances to limit smoking in public places; examine the marketing practices of tobacco companies worldwide; shed light on the political strategies of this industry; and conduct all of the other activities that have become hallmarks of the international anti-tobacco movement. The anti-tobacco movement has become a significant force for change. Its efforts have contributed to a reduction in tobacco use in our country and other industrialized nations, and steps are being taken to ensure international cooperation in tobacco control efforts. The World Health Organization's (WHO) Framework Convention for Tobacco Control, is a pioneering example of such cooperation. It provides a framework for nations to work, and work together, to contain the rapidly spreading tobacco epidemic. What has been learned to date suggests that no single approach can, alone, solve the tobacco control problem. Diverse approaches are needed, and comprehensive programs that include multiple strategies seem to have the greatest impact. Economic approaches, such as increasing the cost of cigarettes, are seen as key to tobacco control. Research indicates that for every increase of 10%
Introduction 7