www.preteenagerstoday.com - Read expert advice and articles on preteens, tweens and teens. Share your experiences in our community. Parenting teenagers can be easy!
Chronic coughing, increased phlegm, emphysema and bronchitis have been well established products of smoking for decades, and smokers are also more susceptible to influenza and more likely to experience severe symptoms when they get the flu.
Smoking causes mild airway obstruction, reduced lung function and slowed growth of lung function among adolescents.
Teenage smokers suffer from shortness of breath almost three times more often than teens who don't smoke and produce phlegm more than twice as often as teens who don't smoke. Not surprisingly, smoking also hurts young people's physical fitness in terms of both performance and endurance – even among young people trained in competitive running.
The resting heart rates of young adult smokers are two to three beats per minute faster than nonsmokers, and studies have shown that early signs of heart disease and stroke can be found in adolescents who smoke.
Smoking is also associated with hearing loss, vision problems and increased headaches.
While many smokers believe that smoking relieves stress, it is actually a major cause. Smoking only appears to reduce stress because it lessens the irritability and tension caused by the underlying nicotine addiction.
High school seniors who are regular smokers and who began smoking by grade nine are more than twice as likely than their nonsmoking peers to report poorer overall health; roughly two and a half times more likely to report cough with phlegm or blood, shortness of breath when not exercising and wheezing or gasping; and three times more likely to have seen a doctor or other health professional fr an emotional or psychological complaint.
The iParenting Media Awards program helps parents find the best products for their families. 
