Teens
- Tobacco will ruin your looks and your athletic performance
- Tobacco smoke makes your hair and clothes smell awful. It also stains your teeth yellow and causes bad breath.
- Smokeless tobacco (“chew”) can cause cracked lips, white spots, sores, and bleeding in your mouth. Surgery to remove mouth canser can ruin your face.
- Smoking reduces the oxygen available for your muscles, so smokers are not as strong as their non-smoking teammates and competitors.
- Smokers also suffer shortness of breath and it makes your heart work a lot harder. That means you can’t run as far or as fast as non-smokers.
- Don’t believe the hype! Other forms of tobacco, such as “chew” and “hookah,” are not safe alternatives.
You can do it!
There are many reasons not to start using tobacco:
- Smelly clothes and hair.
- Bad breath.
- Yellow teeth.
- More colds.
- Difficulty playing sports.
- Other kids won’t want to hang out with you.
- No money – it costs a lot of money to buy tobacco.
- Diseases such as cancer and heart disease.
There are lots of better things to do than use tobacco:
- Play a sport.
- Join a club.
- Hang out with your friends.
- Go shopping.
- Go to the movies.
- Walk your dog.
- Read.
- All the other things you like to do!
Encourage your friend or family member to quit using tobacco. You can mention that tobacco use:
- Is bad for their health.
- Expensive.
- Causes smelly hair, clothes, breath, cars, and furniture.
- Is against the law to buy if they’re under 18.
- Can be stopped, and there’s help. Ask them to visit www.GetHealthyWashoe.com
Q & A
Q: Why do teenagers get hooked on tobacco in the first place?
A: Tobacco companies, also known as “Big Tobacco,” need to replace smokers who quit or die. They want to replace these smokers with kids like you, and they’ll do anything to get you hooked. In fact, most adult smokers were hooked on tobacco before they were even 18! To get you hooked, they put ads in magazines and convenience stores, just so you’ll see them. They glamorize tobacco by using models in their ads, and by sponsoring important events like sporting events. They may even try to give you tobacco for free. “Big Tobacco” thinks these tactics will convince teens to buy their products, but we have news for them - most teens don’t use tobacco at all!
Q: I want to quit smoking, but I’ve heard that, when people quit, they gain weight. Is there a way to quit without gaining weight?
A: Sometimes people that quit tobacco gain weight at first. Having a better sense of smell and taste, an increased appetite, or a habit of having something in your mouth can lead to eating more food than usual. Then, weight gain can happen. Don’t let this stop you from quitting! Many people who have quit never gained weight, and those that did lost it within 6 months. To avoid gaining weight, the two best things you can do are to eat healthy and to be physically active.* If you need to have something in your mouth, use gum or a toothpick instead of food.
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