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| THIS IS PUBLIC HEALTH |
Underage Tobacco Use
"BUYING TOBACCO FOR MINORS COULD COST YOU"
"UNDER 18, NO TOBACCO"
Public Health is a field of many options. Public Health mostly focuses on a specific group. The group I chose is teens from the age of 13-17 whom smoke underage. Smoking tobacco is a public health issue in many ways. However focusing on underage smoking among teens age 13-17 has become an important issue in public health. Growing up I was well aware thanks to public health programs, the deadly dangers caused by smoking or using tobacco products. Also both of my parents smoke cigarettes and dealing with second hand smoke my entire life was not fair to me, the victim, who cannot control the person smoking tobacco. Second hand smoke has always been a rising issue in public health, theories show that second hand smoke is more harmful then actually smoking a cigarette. I strongly support the cause for Tobacco Free Florida. The University of South Florida St. Petersburg has recently become a smoke-free campus. I urge that USF Tampa and other campuses around the nation implement this same rule.
For my "This is Public Health" sticker I went to a local gas station. I chose this location because it is close to USF and the surrounding Hillsborough county schools. I also decided to use this gas station because I know that they always ask for I.D. The exact location is the Southeast corner of Fletcher and 56th street. There are today stores out there which do not I.D. I think it is
important for stores like this to be shut down and for the importance of
not selling to minors to be strongly enforced. Children whom smoke under the age of 18 are twice as likely to suffer the negative outcomes caused when smoking. Some side effects from smoking include aging sooner, yellow teeth, chronic cough, lung cancer, throat cancer, mouth cancer; not to mention cigarettes are highly addictive, and may lead to death. I hope that tobacco is a product which soon becomes illegal. The detrimental effects of tobacco does not balance out the "benefits" of manufacturing tobacco products. The issue of using tobacco products underage is important because there are only negative outcomes. Children, teens, nor anyone for that matter should not be smoking due to the increased chance of death after every cigarette smoked.
I absolutely agree that restricting tobacco access to minors should be strongly enforced to minimize harms caused by smoking. But it is also important to reduce secondhand smoke because it increases the risk of cancer, asthma, heart disease, pregnancy complications and death. Therefore, I think that U.S.F’s effort to reduce secondhand smoke by limiting smoking to designated areas and providing free products for those who want to quit is a good start to address the problem. I think those who do not comply should not only be considered in violation of the Student Code of Conduct but also be fined.
ReplyDeleteYou couldn't have found a better "This is Public Health" example. Smoking is definitely something that affects all people, whether you smoke or not. While limiting the age of consumers that can purchase tobacco to 18 doesn't eliminate the dangers of smoking overall it does help cut down the amount of minors that can be affected by smoking. I agree with your statement about making campus smoke free. However I will point out that the Tampa campus has done something to cut down on the free range smoking and designated certain areas for students to smoke in. That's not preventing smoking but since we can't make everyone stop, it is helping to limit the amount of second hand smoke for other students.
ReplyDeleteThis is an excellent example of public health measures taken for both education and prevention. An interesting side note about underage tobacco use and prevention was the law that made many flavored tobacco products illegal. It was believed these products appealed to children and younger audiences and was therefore banned in many places.
ReplyDeleteI have strong opinions about tobacco use, so I love this post. My mother smoked for more than twenty years and I saw all the effects of it in the worst ways. Bad breath, bad skin, smoker's cough, and eventually cancer finally made her quit. I like that there are so many restrictions on smoking now, including underage laws like the one in this post. Children should at least be educated about smoking before they have the opportunity to buy cigarettes.
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