Term paper on Teenage Smoking

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To Be A Boy In America
Being a male in America, the center of Western culture, is not by any means easy. We’re plagued by stereotypes and we fight among ourselves. We grow up programmed to act a certain way, talk a certain way, and to do certain things. Unfortunately, this mental conditioning is not productive,

My Words About Life
Joey Bur*censored* English 1A March 18, 2001 I can’t hear you Cars race by as you impatiently stand on the corner waiting for the crosswalk sign to turn green. A young man walks up and stands adjacent to you. He glances your direction and gives a friendly smile; being kind you do the same.

Smoking in the United States has recently seen a rapid increase in the percentage of teenagers who are picking up the habit. Although still lower than it was in the 1970’s, teen smoking rates are quickly approaching the percentages of the decade. There are multiple factors that have contributed to the surge of teenage smokers, and several suggestions have been made to suppress it.

From 1991 until 1996, the percentages of 12th that were daily smokers rose 20%, 10th graders 45% and 8th graders shot up 44%. According to Graph 2, 63.5% of 12th graders admitted to having ever smoked a cigarette, 34% to smoking one in the last 30 days, and 13% to smoking a half pack or more per day. The factors that caused this sudden eruption of teenage smoking is frequently debated and never settled. Tobacco companies attribute the increase is due to various “social forces” and teenagers’ natural rebellious reactions, that they “enjoy doing something forbidden,” or just because of the taste, to kill time, relieve stress, or stay thin. They feel teens are driven to smoking because of the “increasing efforts to stop them.” However, critics of the tobacco industry ascribe the rise to the companies themselves.

Tobacco companies’ spending climbed from $361 million in 1970 to $4.83 billion in 1994. A large portion of this money is invested in promotions and advertising. Coinciding with merchandise giveaways companies such as Philip Morris and R.J. Reynolds was a sharp rise in teen smoking. 30% of teenagers who smoke have acquired merchandise. This has encouraged children to buy cigarettes inn order...