Let's Be the First Generation of Quitters!

The U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) hosts National Prevention Week each May so schools can participate in prevention-themed activities before summer, when substance misuse escalates. The Youth Council of the Unified Prevention Coalition of Fairfax County is participating by writing blog posts this week. The NPW week focus for Monday, May 16 is Prevention of Tobacco Use.

We should be the generation that ends smoking. The Truth Initiative, an organization working to end smoking among teens, is constantly advertising the negative effects of smoking. Their commercials combine pop culture and facts in order to appeal to a younger audience and explain the serious health and social issues that derive from addiction. According to its website, only 7 percent of teens still smoke, but the ways in which that 7 percent smoke come from various tobacco products -- cigarettes, hookah, etc.

Many teens still smoking do so for social reasons, meaning at a party or only when they are with their friends. However the side effects of this social smoking could lead a teen to be addicted for life.

Tobacco products used by adolescents include cigarettes (both store-bought and hand-rolled), cigars, pipes, hookahs, smokeless tobacco, and newer oral products such as e-cigarettes, pouches, lozenges, strips, and sticks. All of these products deliver tobacco’s toxic effects:

• Cigarettes: Nearly 90 percent of adult smokers began smoking before age 18 and 14 percent of high school seniors reported smoking in the last month.
• Smokeless tobacco: Use of smokeless tobacco among adolescents is less common than cigarette smoking.
• Hookahs: Hookahs are no safer than other forms of tobacco smoking and may deliver even higher levels of toxic substances than.
• Flavored little cigars and flavored cigarettes: Of middle and high school students who smoke, more than 40 percent smoke flavored little cigars or flavored cigarettes.
• E-cigarettes: From 2011 to 2014, the percentage of 12th-grade students who had ever used an e-cigarette increased from 4.7 to 17.2 percent. For the first time, more teenagers used e-cigarettes than smoked cigarettes. (For more information, see http://www.hhs.gov/ash/oah/adolescent-health-topics/substance-abuse/tobacco/trends.html)

The Truth Initiative and its message are very important to our generation. Their influential commercials have powerfully impacted how teenagers view smoking. As shown in the infographic at the top of the page, the need for community awareness and prevention efforts must keep pace with manufacturers. More information on The Truth Initiative can be found here: http://truthinitiative.org/

The author is a senior at Langley High School and is a second-year member of the Youth Council of the Unified Prevention Coalition of Fairfax County.

The Unified Prevention Coalition of Fairfax County is a nonprofit organization with more than 60 community partners working together to keep youth and young adults safe and drug-free. Visit www.unifiedpreventioncoalition.org and www.facebook.com/unifiedpreventioncoalition. Follow the group on Twitter at www.twitter.com/keepyouthsafe.