Smoking and health
Eidtor Cui ao ran
We meet smokers everywhere.There are 6.5 billion people in the world,and about 1.2 billion of them are smokers,which make up to 20 percent of the world's total population.
Smoking is very harmful.First,smoking costs a great deal of money.It wastes 200 billion dollars each year in the world.Second,smoking does harm to the health of smokers and even the people near them.About 3 million people die of diseases caused by smoking every year.
Luckily,more and more people have come to realize the great harm of smoking.To our delight the total amount of world tobacco production has dropped from over 14 billion pounds in 2000 to 7 billion pounds in 2003.It is certain that the number of smokers will further decrease gradually
It is reported that the number of teenage smokers has been on the rise in recent years,which has caused great concern among people in ail walks or life.There are several reasons that account for this fact,but the following three may be the main ones.
First of all,it is easy for teenagers to get cigarettes.Cigarettes are available almost everywhere.Today's teens have more spare money,which comes from the improved living standard of their parents.They can buy what they want,includingcigarettes.Second,teenagers smoke because their adolescent years are filled with psychological problems.One of these problems,for example,is establishing a sense of identity.The teen years are the time when young people want to be more independent from their parents and form their ownvalues.The enormous mental pressures of these years can make some people turn to smoking.A final,and perhaps most important,reason is peer pressure to conform.Teens often become very close to special friends,for one thing,and they will share a friend's interest,even if one of these is smoking.Teenagers also attend parties and other social gatherings where it is all important to be one of the crowd,to be "cool." Even the most mature teenager might be tempted to smoke than to risk being an outcast.For all these reasons,cigarettes are a major problem facing teenagers.