Smoking is everywhere. It is impossible to watch television, read a magazine, watch a movie, or simply go for a drive without seeing an advertisement for smoking. The worst thing about these advertisements is that they are not about how smoking is bad for your health or the causes of smoking, these advertisements portray smoking as something “cool.” The people that are shown smoking are often classy and beautiful with a great body which tries to convey that if someone smokes then they will look like that too. This couldn’t be further from the truth and the truth about smoking needs to be told! Smoking is one of the worst things one could do to their body. There are no positive effects of smoking, yet there are numerous negative effects. These negative effects include shortness of breath, chest pains, and coughing among many others. Smoking is also one of the leading causes of cancer, yet everyday more and more people are getting hooked on it, especially teenagers.
One of these teenagers is Franky Risser, a sophomore a Warwick High School in Lititz, Pennsylvania. Franky began smoking about two years ago, at the age of fourteen. Franky started smoking for several reasons: all her friends smoked, everyone in her family smoked except for her sister, and also because she wanted to experiment. Franky says she was able to quit “for seven months by going cold turkey” but started again because the person she is dating is also a smoker. Franky also added that she “wishes that stopping was easier” because she feels like she’s wasting money and my life on a useless addiction.”
Something needs to be done; the truth needs to be told. Today’s youth need to be educated more about the risks and effects of smoking so they don’t fall victim to the misleading advertisements that our society is surrounded by because chances are if youth knew the truth and the consequences of smoking, chances are they would not feel the desire or curiosity to light up from the start.