Smoking tobacco contributes to an image that is seen more often now as a turn-off than in previous years.

With an estimated 4.5 million child and adolescent smokers, a young person holding a cigarette has become a common sight. Most establishments choose to accommodate the adult smoking population by offering designated smoking areas. However, aside from businesses that need to offer equal services to all customers, many people choose not to associate themselves with smokers.

Aside from cancer and other health concerns that smoking tobacco has been shown to create, the negatives of smoking also revolve around appearance. A smoker who uses cigarettes continually often has yellowed teeth, bad breath and a scratchy voice. Special products have even been created to help with smoking effects, such as Targon, “The Smoker’s Mouthwash.”

Clark High School student Faun Ginac, whose mother used cigarettes, says, “All my clothes smelled like smoke. It never goes away until the person who smokes goes away.”

Choosing to smoke cigarettes, of course, often leads to an addiction to the feeling that smoking offers. More and more people, however, see beyond that.

Josh Van Steenis, a Silverado High School student, says, “Why would anyone put something in their bodies that can hurt it?” He claims those who do so are “stupid,” “dumb,” and “don’t care about themselves.”

A similar attitude can be found among many others, and its effects can be seen within groups of friends. Those who choose not to smoke also choose to be with fellow non-smokers.

Nathan Warner from Silverado High School chooses to be with other people who don’t smoke, “because I know we have the same values, and I’m going to like them better.”

An average of 70 percent of smokers claim they regret their decision to start. Sometimes it takes years for the negative effects of smoking to reveal themselves. A stereotypical image of an older smoker often includes unhealthy, yellow teeth, difficulty breathing and the constant odor of smoke. This picture, however, isn’t always far off from the truth.

People today, especially teens, are beginning to see that image as a possibility that can be avoided by not smoking. A new, smarter attitude of both health and cleanliness is beginning to emerge.

-Return to March 2005 Issue-