Thus, the most important public health issue of this era and the single most avoidable cause of death hinges on adolescent factors related to adolescent smoking. Long-term health consequences of youth smoking are reinforced by the fact that most young people who smoke regularly continue to do so well into adulthood. Cigarette smokers who start to have a lower level of lung function than a non-smoker because smoking reduces lung growth. In adults, cigarette smoking causes heart disease and stroke. Studies show early signs of these diseases can be found in adolescents who smoke.
Smoking hurts a teen's physical fitness in terms of poor performance and endurance.
On average, someone who smokes a pack or more every day lives seven years less than someone who never smoked. The resting heart rates of young adult smokers are two to three beats per minute faster than non-smokers. Smoking at an early age increases the risk of lung cancer. Teenage smokers suffer from shortness of breath about three times as often as teens who don't smoke. Teenage smokers are more likely to have seen a doctor or other health professional for an emotional or psychological complaint.