Nonfiction Reading Response

            The article “Ending Teen Smoking,” by Stephanie Kraus informed about how dangerous smoking is for teens.  Including the percent of teens smoking in America, the effects of smoking, the situation even with electronic cigarettes and campaigns put together to stop teen smoking. One example of stopping smokers is to ban cigarettes around college campuses and areas similar to it. The author explains the change in this problem and what people are doing about it.

            In the first section out of three, the author mentioned the amount of teen smokers in America. It said, “A recent survey found that only 9% of teens in the United States smoke cigarettes. That’s down from 23% in 2000.” This is a problem because according to the second paragraph, cigarettes can cause things like cancer, lung disease, diabetes, heart problems, and high blood pressure. This part of the article made me think about how effective smoking cigarettes are. To stop this from no longer happening, The Truth campaign put their ideas on things like social media. For example, the paragraph stated, ““If we all join forces – smokers and non-smokers – we can end smoking once and for all,” the campaign website states. The campaign encourages teens to not judge, but instead to learn the facts.” I felt surprised by how many children actually smoke and how they still do even after of these campaigns and being aware.

            The second and third sections are called, “Another Issue surfaces” and “Secondhand Effects.” Discussing electronic cigarettes, it said even though they can be somewhat helpful to your addiction, you are getting yourself into another one. The article stated, “The increased use of e-cigarettes by teens is deeply troubling," said CDC Director Tom Frieden, M.D., M.P.H. Nicotine is a highly addictive drug. Many teens who start with e-cigarettes may struggle with a lifelong addiction.” The author wanted the reader to know that electronic cigarettes are still bad for you. Also, according to high school students, they reported that it went from 4.7% in 2011 to 10% in 2012 of students smoking electronic cigarettes. Now, it is not only dangerous for the smoker but for the people around them. It said, “An estimated 88 million nonsmoking Americans, including 54% of children between the ages of 3 and 11, are exposed to secondhand smoke.” I think, the fact that all of these non-smokers are getting affected is not fair, plus the smokers are still getting hurt from the addiction of nicotine. For example, another way people are trying to stop this is by banning them in stores. The article said, “This year, the pharmacy chain CVS made a move to fight the tobacco trend. It became the first nationwide pharmacy to ban sales of cigarettes and tobacco products at its U.S. stores.” Due to the banning, the campaigns have grown to be very popular and many campuses and areas have banned smoking.

            This article explained how the campaigns changed many smokers and the cons of cigarettes and electronic cigarettes. This helped me understand more about how cigarettes are dangerous and made me realize that electronic cigarettes are not as good as I thought they were. In my life, many people smoke and as a non-smoker, it actually does affect me as I am around them. Wondering about electronic cigarettes, I would like to do more research on why they are as addicting as regular cigarettes. After reading this article, I’ve come to understand the ability of campaigns and unsafe cigarettes.

            Citing: http://www.timeforkids.com/news/ending-teen-smoking/187686