19% of high school girls and 28% of high school boys used some form of tobacco in 2011. These same students are more likely to use alcohol and participate in illegal drug use than non-users. Cigarette smokers are also more likely to get into fights, attempt suicide, suffer from mental health problems and have unsafe sex. Engaging in smoking at such a young age can lead to a plethora of health problems, including but not limited to: coughing spells, shortness of breath, headaches, increased respiratory illnesses, and can lead to gum disease, chronic lung diseases (emphysema and bronchitis, for example), hearing loss, vision problems, and blood vessel disease, which can lead to heart attacks and/or strokes. These same kids also use an alternative to smoking referred to as ‘dip’ - smokeless tobacco. This alone can lead to mouth, larynx, esophagus, stomach, and pancreas cancers. Not to mention receding gums and gum disease, precancerous spots in the mouth, and the obvious, nicotine addiction.

Bidis (beedis) and kreteks, both of which high school students have admitted to smoking with almost as much regularity as cigarettes. Bidis are small, hand-rolled cigarettes imported to the United States from Southeast Asia. They’re made of tobacco, wrapped in leaves from plants native to Asia, and may be tied with colorful string at one end. Bidis sometimes are flavored, which is said to make them more attractive to the younger generation. What most kids are unaware of, is imported cigarettes have been proven to have higher levels of nicotine, tar, and carbon monoxide than domestic cigarettes sold in America. Despite common misconceptions, bidis are not a safe alternative to conventional cigarettes. Bidi smoke contains nearly five times the amount of nicotine as a regular cigarette. In fact, smoking bidis with constant frequency puts you at three times the risk for coronary heart disease and almost four times the risk for chronic bronchitis.

So, after all of these statistics, most of which I’m sure you didn’t know, you may ask yourself: why would they start smoking in the