By Bella Kalra, Age 9
Why should kids not smoke?
Smoking is a VERY bad habit and causes many terrible diseases. Cigarettes are filled with different disgusting things you probably don’t know much about.
What are the ingredients in cigarettes?
- Acetone – found in nail polish remover
- Ammonia – a common household cleaner
- Arsenic – found in rat poison
- Benzene – found in rubber cement
- Carbon monoxide – released in car exhaust fumes
Now of course these aren’t ALL the ingredients. There are about 600 different chemicals in cigarettes!
What diseases can cigarette smoke cause?
Smoking can damage your whole body! Here are some of the illnesses caused by smoking:
- Cancer – Cancer is an abnormal growth in your body which makes your organs stop working. Smoking can cause lung, throat, bladder and many more types of cancers.
- Stroke – A stroke is a blood clot or a bleed in your brain which damages the way you think and move.
- Pneumonia – Pneumonia is an infection in your lungs which causes you to have a fever or a bad cough.
- Chronic lung diseases – These diseases damage the airways in your lungs and can make it hard to breathe.
- Heart disease – Smoking damages the blood vessels in your heart. This can cause a heart attack.
- Along with all the diseases above, smoking causes bad breath, stinky clothes and yellow teeth. YUCK!
Do you want to hear a personal story about how smoking affected my family? If yes, please keep reading!
My great-grandfather was a smoker. Back in the day, 100 years ago, people didn’t know smoking was bad for you. After years of smoking, he developed throat cancer. It made him stop breathing and pass away when he was 70 years old.
How can you stay away from smoking?
- Avoid all contact with cigarettes.
- If someone asks you, “Do you want a cigarette?” you can say, “No, smoking is bad for you”.
- Try to keep away from people who smoke.
All you kids out there who smoke or are thinking about smoking, I hope this information convinces you to stay away from cigarettes and live a long, healthy life!
