ampaigns…may be extremely effective when they target children as young as elementary school age, are long-term, and consistently portray smoking as hazardous for adults and children alike.” (3) Much like the success of the “just say no” drug program that was widely documented and proven when targeting this age-group, smoking adds should take the same approach to curb the trends of teenage starters in the US. Smokers that start have a very hard time stopping. “In one study, of the women smokers who said they wanted to stop smoking, 80% of them were unable to.”(1) Nicotine is felt, by many researches and scientists including the surgeon general, to be as addictive as heroin or cocaine. Nicotine, in fact, affects the same areas of the brain as these drugs and has similar effects. Nicotine is also similar to these drugs in that the body eventually develops a tolerance to them and requires more amounts of the substance to maintain the effects. Nicotine, however, has a much higher resistance level, thusly requiring even newly started smokers to accelerate their use to dangerously addictive levels. This tolerance and inherent addiction is what makes stopping smoking so difficult. When Nicotine is absent in the user, the individual experiences withdrawal symptoms. The pull of this addiction is so strong that, “Even after years of nonsmoking, about 20% of ex-smokers still have occasional cravings for cigarettes.”(1) According to the Web MD website, a site supported by 3 of the leading medical universities in the US and the FDA, offers the following description and recommendation for those handling withdrawal.Among the physical symptoms of withdrawal are tingling in the hands and feet, sweating, intestinal disorders, and headache. People often experience sore throats, coughing, and other signs of colds and respiratory problems as the lungs begin to clear. While people are enduring thes...
