Parenting Tips: Teen Smoking & Toking
 As we celebrate national Wipe Out Smoking month this November, it is important to remember that the best way to reduce smoking is to make sure kids never start. However, despite decades of effort and significant progress, during 2002, five million young people smoked cigarettes. Tragically, over six thousand try them for the first time every day. But there's another smoking risk people don't usually think of when they hear, "smoke-out." That threat is marijuana.
How serious is the problem? Research shows that youth who smoke cigarettes are fourteen times more likely to try marijuana as those who don't. Take a look at these startling figures:
Fact 1:
In 2002, nearly four million teens smoked marijuana. And for every kid who tries tobacco for the first time, one also tries marijuana.
Fact 2:
Lungs don't discriminate: both marijuana and tobacco smoke damage lungs. Marijuana smoke contains some of the same cancer-causing compounds as tobacco, sometimes in higher concentrations. In fact, marijuana smoke contains 50 to 70 percent more carcinogenic hydrocarbons than tobacco smoke. Check the research.
Fact 3:
Almost as many kids are trying and using marijuana as cigarettes. In many major cities marijuana use exceeds cigarette use among high school youth. Check the research.
The Risks of Marijuana
The Real Facts About Marijuana
Tobacco & Teens
Please visit www.TheAntiDrug.com for the latest news and advice on talking to your kids about drugs.
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