KYTX - Teen smoking increases during summer months скачать в хорошем качестве

KYTX - Teen smoking increases during summer months

July 10, 2012 By Jennifer Heathcock TYLER (KYTX) - A new study shows 5,000 teens try smoking for the first time every day during June and July. CBS 19's Jennifer Heathcock explains why more teens are lighting up this summer. "I had a friend who did it, who smoked a lot and asked me to try it one day, and I was like, ok," say Emilee White who started smoking as a teen. "I'm not an everyday smoker or anything," says White. White is now a college student at Tyler Junior College. She says she picked up the habit during the summer. A study by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration shows the number of US teens who decide to light up in the summer increased by 1,000 a day compared to an average day in the school year. "90% of adults who are smokers started smoking when they were children," says Trinity Clinic nurse practitioner Catherine Giordano. Giordano says starting early leaves more years for teens to acquire heart and lung disease and cancer. Lighting up early is even more problematic. Think about it this way, teens lung tissue is still forming. It's like a sponge when they breathe in the smoke they soak up more toxins. "Kids actually breathe at a faster rate than adults breathe," says Giordano. The study lists free time and lack of supervision as reasons for exposure, and for leading to stronger drugs after trying tobacco. "If you quit with in several years, your body will reverse itself, new tissues will help to regenerate," says Giordano. Something White says she plans to do. "I would never ask anyone to try it," says White. One way to prevent your child from trying tobacco is to know what they're doing and who they're with this summer, be aware of their activities and get them involved.