Many teens have smoked a cigarette at least once. For parents the numbers of teenage smoking is impressive and alarming. Long-term health consequences of youth smoking are reinforced by the fact that most young people who smoke regularly continue to smoke throughout adulthood. The chart below shows these effects that are listed below. Cigarette smokers have a lower level of lung function than those persons who have never smoked.
Smoking reduces the rate of lung growth.
In adults, cigarette smoking causes heart disease and stroke. Studies have shown that early signs of these diseases can be found in adolescents who smoke. The resting heart rate of young adult smokers are two to three beats per minute faster than nonsmokers. Smoking at an early age increases the risk of lung cancer. For most smoking-related cancers, the risk rises as the individual continues to smoke.