Causes for Teenage Smoking

In my high school, there were several serious rules against teenage smoking. The most severe punishment could discontinue the smoking students’ schooling. Nevertheless, it was common to see some boys smoking in our school toilets. Why did they still smoke as they already knew the harsh consequences and bad influence on their health from smoking? It was terrible for the country to have so many teenage smokers.  

   The first cause can be their curiosity. Teenagers are in the period of adolescence. It is a period when they want to know everything mysterious to them. Their teachers tell them smoking is a bad habit for health. Their parents tell them they should never smoke for so many times, which makes them bored. But the more they are prevented, the more interested they could be in smoking.  Curiosity lets them want to have a try. Once they have tried, the situation gets serious. Everything begins from the first time. After the first try, they would have their experience with cigarettes which they expect for a long time.

   Except curiosity, the influence from their parents can be another cause. Many teenagers' fathers are smokers, so they imitate their fathers. One of my friends who is a teenage smoker told me his house was full of smoke as long as his parents were at home. At the beginning, he could not tolerate the smell. Later, he just wanted to be as enjoyable as his parents. He stole his first cigarette from his father. Then he puffed away like his him and became a smoking addict later.

   The third cause may come from their bad friends. If a teenager has friends who spend the whole day hacking around, doing nothing meaningful, steal or fight usually, and smoke. It is dangerous for this teenager. Since he gets together with this kind of friends often, he can be impacted by them. It is difficult for him to refuse the first cigarette from his friends who are smoking except himself. He does not want to be looked down by them. He does not want to be laughed at by them. So with a smile, he accepts the first cigarette of his life, but it cannot be the last one.

   Some bad emotions can also lead them to smoke. When they encounter a thing difficult for them to accept, they can become depressed to a deep extent. They may feel hopeless sometimes, so they want to find a way to vent their bad feelings. Some may come up with the scene that the hero in a movie smokes a lot after his wife was killed in a traffic accident. The idea that cigarettes can be their best friends when they are lonely, sad and discouraged goes deep into their minds. They take it as a way to make them relieved. One of my best friends told me that he began his smoking life on the day when he was rejected by the girl he had loved secretly for a year. Then he became a teenage addicted smoker. 

   Curiosity can be the source of starting doing everything, especially something that is prevented, such as smoking. Parents should take their responsibilities to lead their children to the positive aspects. We can choose our friends, and we also can control our emotions. Whatever other causes can be found, whether to smoke is a teenager's own choice. Everybody has to be responsible for himself.