There’s a new twist to the message about not smoking—don’t smoke cigarettes, and don’t smoke marijuana. Both damage young lungs.¹ Teens need to understand the dual dangers because more high school students use marijuana than cigarettes in 13 of 14 cities surveyed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 2001.²
Smoking remains the Nation’s leading preventable cause of death. Recent surveys show that both tobacco and marijuana are a major public health threat among youth in particular:

• In 2000, 2.2 million youth under age 18 tried cigarettes for the first time and 2.1 million tried marijuana for the first time.³
• In 2002, 17.8 percent of 10th graders reported using marijuana and 17.7 percent of 10th graders reported using cigarettes in the past 30 days.⁴
• Youth who smoke cigarettes are 14 times more likely to try marijuana than those who don’t.⁵

Smoking is particularly harmful for teens because their bodies are still growing and changing. Smoking reduces the rate of lung growth and lessens the amount of lung function that a young person should have. The poisons found in cigarette and marijuana smoke affect normal development and can cause life-threatening diseases, such as chronic bronchitis, heart disease, and stroke. Smoking is the most common cause of lung cancer and is also a leading cause of cancer of the mouth, throat, bladder, pancreas, and kidney.

Some teens might argue that marijuana isn’t as bad for them as tobacco. They’re wrong. Marijuana smoke contains some of the same cancer-causing compounds as tobacco, sometimes in higher concentrations.⁶ In fact, one joint can contain as many cancer-causing chemicals as four cigarettes.⁷ What many teens may not know is that the strength of marijuana may be as high as 25 times that of earlier decades.⁸

These facts show that marijuana, as much as cigarettes, poses a serious threat to the health of youth. The possibility for harm may be greater for those who are using both substances at the same time. However, lung damage and lung disease from smoking marijuana and cigarettes can be prevented if children never develop the habit.

Parents have the most important influence on their child when it comes to staying away from tobacco and marijuana. You can encourage a healthy and smoke-free lifestyle for your child by taking these steps:

• Know the facts about marijuana and tobacco and talk to your child about them.
• Closely supervise your child’s time and whereabouts.
• Know who your child’s friends are.
• Set clear rules of behavior for your home and enforce them.
• Stay involved in every aspect of your child’s life.

If you smoke, it is more likely that your child also will smoke. You are the best role model for your child, so do your best to kick the habit. Your child’s good health may depend on it.

Sources

¹ National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign. American Children in Double Jeopardy: Cigarette and Marijuana Smoke Damaging Young Lungs, last referenced 5/5/04.

² CDC. 2001. Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System.

³ National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign. American Children in Double Jeopardy: Cigarette and Marijuana Smoke Damaging Young Lungs, last referenced 5/5/04.

⁴ Ibid.

⁵ The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University and the American Legacy Foundation. 2003. National Survey of American Attitudes on Substance Abuse VIII, Teens and Parents, Teen Cigarette Smoking and Marijuana.

⁶ National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign. American Children in Double Jeopardy: Cigarette and Marijuana Smoke Damaging Young Lungs, last referenced 5/5/04.

⁷ Ibid.

⁸ National Institute on Drug Abuse. Marijuana Abuse, last referenced 5/5/04.

Additional Resources

• National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign: Smoking and Toking: American Teens in Double Jeopardy
• National Institute on Drug Abuse Fact Sheet: Parents: Nicotine Is a Real Threat to Your Kids
• The Anti-Drug: Talk to Your Child About Marijuana