Forget about sports. No matter your age, even a few cigarettes a day will affect your ability to compete in sports. Smoking reduces the amount of oxygen that gets to your head and nicotine causes the heart to beat faster. You simply can't breathe well if you smoke. And without breathing well, you can kiss sports good-bye.
Smoking costs big bucks.
Say you smoke three packs of cigarettes a week. That's a little less than half a pack a day and is the habit of a light smoker. Smokers hurt people who choose not to light up. If they won't stop for themselves, maybe they will for the sake of others. Second-hand smoke contains more than 4,000 different chemicals, at least 40 of which cause cancer.