Get with the 'In' crowd

Sam DeReign // Southeast Missourian

To get young adults' points of view on smoking issues, I interviewed some of my friends who used to smoke or still do. However, most of their parents never knew they had started the habit to begin with. So, to avoid anyone getting into trouble, I've identified them by celebrity names they chose.

Your mom and dad have told you it's stupid. You know it's stupid. But smoking among young adults has become a prominent activity in this day and age. So many of the friends I've grown up with have turned their childish habits into the new, "more mature" them. Bicycles turned into sports cars, Nickelodeon turned into MTV and candy cigarettes turned into Marlboros.

I'll admit I've tried it. I'm 18. Eighteen-year-olds do stupid things. But being at a party and getting caught up in a good time can have longterm consequences.

"Sometimes if I got uncomfortable or anxious at a party, I just wanted something to do," said 17-year-old Jennifer Lopez of Oran. "You just want to look like you fit in."

Some teenagers claim it's work-related stress or relationship trouble that may be causing them to smoke. (This actually doesn't help at all since it speeds up your heart rate.) Some say they only do it when they drink or socialize.

"I do it when I'm bored," said 18-year-old Stevie Wonder of Oran. "But I'm going to stop before summer ends."

Almost never do you hear someone finally admit, "Yeah, it was peer pressure," because that would show weakness and that most teenagers are more impressionable than they think. It sickens them to know their parents were right when they said it's actually hard to say no to friends who urge you to "just try it."

Sadly, those few words can lead to lifelong medical problems, endless pain and the inability to never get that big breath of fresh air that your body is longing for.

TheTruth.com says more than 80 percent of adult smokers began before the age of 18 and that every eight seconds someone dies due to tobacco use. Add another 50,000 to the death toll for the second-hand smoke that kills Americans in one year alone. And every time you light one up you're taking five to 20 minutes off your own life.

But then again, you're young, healthy and on top of the world with that fast car and football scholarship. You're going to live forever, right? Why not enjoy a smoke every now and then? As long as you keep working out and eating right, you can prove that you can look good and smoke at the same time!

What a waste it will be, though, when you lose your so-called immortal life to a disease you swore you would never get. You always told yourself and your friends that it was just something you did for fun -- nothing serious. Unfortunately, your body couldn't take any more of that fun hobby of yours, and it's giving up.

What I'm trying to say is it's never too late to quit. I've heard too many horror stories of people losing their loved ones to such a simple habit.

Smoking may be your definition of "cool" right now, but to others it's a matter of life or death. That's why some people my age have decided to get a head start and quit while it's still easy.

"I just stopped smoking a couple of weeks ago," said Madonna, "and after already noticing such major differences in my everyday life, I now realize what a mistake I was making."

Sam DeReign is a graduate of Oran High School. E-mail him at sdereign@semissourian.com.