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Forget about the ancient myths, you shall be
surprised to know about certain modern myths related to smoking,
prevalent in this scientific age. Young smoker girls of 15 in UK, smoke
because their assumption is that smoking aids dieting and it suppresses
appetite!
According to one startling finding, more girls smoke
than boys in the UK. The actual statistics state 1 in 4 girls as against
1 in 6 boys smoke when they are 15 in the United Kingdom.
Boys have different reasons to smoke. Their role models are their
parents. If the father or the mother smokes, how can they prevent their
son from smoking?
If you have an elder brother who is a
cigarette-addict, the younger one will most probably follow the suit.
And your friends have always been ‘helpful’ in taking you to the wrong
track. The foes in the disguise of friends!
Tobacco advertisers
do most of the damage and influence the young minds to take to smoking.
They do it by appealing to the emotions of the younger generation. These
advertisers have top sports persons and stars as their brand
ambassadors. Children blindly follow the goody-goody things the sports
person says about tobacco.
One in million of those young
onlookers, may indeed turn out to be a national or international level
star, but the rest end up in smoking only. And the one who has attained
fame, has attained it not due to smoking, he has achieved it in spite of
smoking! He may not be a smoker at all. He has carried out the
advertising assignment for the sake of dollars only.
Pity the passive smokers and condemn the active smokers. The fault
of the former category is that they are the children, brothers or
sisters of the active smokers. Smokers can not escape the consequences
of the dangerous nicotine. Why should it spare the young ones? Such
youngsters suffer from wheeziness, shortness of breath, cough and
phlegm. Smoking youngsters generally have poor attendance records. The
passive smokers also suffer from the attacks of chronic respiratory
bothers, asthma and pneumonia.
The ill effects
of smoking have been highlighted, but the dangers of passive smoking are
not taken that seriously. Infants and children suffer more. They have
tender lungs and therefore, the dangers are also more. The question here
is not whether the children actually smoke. The duration to which they
are exposed to smoking environment is relevant.
Those who favor
smoking know that they are on the losing side. It is just argument for
the sake of argument. Whom do you like? Children with bright, sparkling
teeth or the ones with yellow teeth, dotted with cavities? You start
smoking, thinking that it is an easy game, but once you are in it, you
know what it is. The quitting battle is very hard!
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