Teen Smoking Quiz
Just what you want — another test. But don't worry. There's no grade, and nothing to get signed. But from our point of view, there's really a lot more at stake than how many answers you get right. Knowing what's right and what's wrong could help you avoid a lifetime of health problems. It may not seem like such a big deal now, but trust us — it is.
See how you do:
1. Teenagers who smoke can quit easily because they have not been smoking as long as adults.
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Oddly enough, it's actually the other way around. According to the American Cancer Society, the younger you are when you begin to smoke, the more likely you are to develop a long-term nicotine addiction and be an adult smoker. Almost 90% of adult smokers started before age 18.
Most teen smokers want to quit and have tried unsuccessfully to do so. It's just as hard for a teen to quit as it is for an adult.
2. Smoking makes you look older.
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However, it's not for the reasons you might think. Smoking makes you look older because people who smoke get wrinkles faster than nonsmokers do. The layer of skin called the dermis, which is under the top layer, gets thinner as people age, causing wrinkles. But smoking and exposure to the sun both make this happen faster.
3. Some teenage smokers have shortness of breath, but that's only because they're out of shape.
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Smoking begins to damage your lungs even in the teenage years, and this means that teen smokers are three times more likely than nonsmokers to get short of breath. A national survey conducted by the CDC found smoking also hurt the athletic performance and endurance of teenage smokers trained in competitive running.
4. Smoking helps you to relax.
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Many people say that smoking relaxes them. Actually, smoking's effect on your body is just the opposite. Many studies have shown that smoking increases your heart rate and your blood pressure, which can lead to long-term damage. The reason that smoking can make people feel more relaxed is that it satisfies — temporarily — the craving for nicotine that makes them irritable.
5. Smoking makes your clothes and breath smell.
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Everyone who has been around a smoker knows this is true, but the smokers themselves may not realize it because smoking also damages your sense of smell and taste. Those senses begin to recover as soon as you quit smoking, however.
7. Teen smokers are more likely to drink and use drugs than nonsmokers.
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According to the American Cancer Society, teen smokers are also more likely to get into fights, carry weapons, have risky sex, be depressed, and commit suicide.
8. Teenagers who smoke get sick more often than those who don't smoke.
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Smoking can make you sick — not just some day, but now. In a national CDC survey of high-school seniors, more than twice as many of those who had been smoking since ninth grade considered their own health poor as did those who did not smoke. They were 2½ times more likely than nonsmokers to say they had coughed up phlegm (mucus) or blood or had experienced wheezing or shortness of breath. Smokers also have longer-lasting colds, and they're more likely than nonsmokers to get the flu, bronchitis and pneumonia.
9. "Lite" cigarettes, bidis, and chewing tobacco aren't as dangerous as regular cigarettes.
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All forms of tobacco can cause cancer and other health problems. There's no such thing as safe tobacco.
10. If you're a teen smoker, the changes in your body that lead to heart disease can start now.
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There's no “grace period” when it comes to smoking. The bad effects on your body start as soon as you start smoking. Smoking as a teen just gives you a head start on heart disease — not the kind of head start anyone wants to have.
11. Which of the following poisons is found in cigarettes? Arsenic, Nicotine, Formaldehyde, Cyanide.
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Nicotine, the substance that makes people get addicted to tobacco, is only one of the poisons contained in the average cigarette. You've probably heard of some of the others, too. Arsenic, for instance, is the main ingredient in rat poison. Formaldehyde is that smelly stuff that preserves the frogs in biology class. Hydrogen cyanide is the poison used in gas chambers. They're all in cigarettes, along with hundreds of other chemicals.
12. A typical U.S. smoker spends about $500 a year on cigarettes.
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It's actually quite a bit more. With a conservative estimate of $4.00 per pack, a pack-a-day smoker spends about $1500 a year on cigarettes. That's a lot of cash going up in smoke.
13. Smokers get more cavities and gum disease than nonsmokers.
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If you keep putting cigarettes in your mouth, you can expect the dentist's drill to follow. Smokers are more likely to get cavities and gum disease than nonsmokers, and they also lose more teeth.
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