I think that the reason that most teens begin smoking is because they want to look cool. Not everyone agrees with Stroupe or the American Cancer Society's study. I do it because it is soothing and comforting. I have hours of homework every night as well as a job and not to mention my extra-curricular activities. At the end of a long hard day, I just want to kick back, relax and smoke a cigarette.
Many local schools offer health courses that make students aware of smoking's dangers.
Kelsey says the media makes smoking seem cool and adult-like and falsely portrays what smoking is really like. L'Neisha Leslie, also a junior at Mount De Sales, chooses not to smoke like Kelsey. They have been falsely led to take up smoking, thinking that it will be beneficiary when really it is harmful. Three out of four high school students have tried a cigarette and one of every two middle school students have experimented with some form of tobacco, according to the American Cancer Society. Approximately 131,000 Georgia youths are predicted to die from their smoking, Lakiah said.