Tobacco use in Louisiana is an issue that is worth addressing. According to Tobacco Free Kids, nearly 20,000 high school students in Louisiana smoke cigarettes. This number roughly translates to 8.4% of all high school students. The percentage of high school students who use electronic cigarettes is much higher. Around 22% of high school students are said to be users of electronic cigarettes, like Juul or Vibe.
Tobacco use is proven to cause premature death. This is not an opinion or claim, rather a fact. Around 7,2000 adults each year die from smoking related illnesses in Louisiana. In fact, smoking has caused more deaths than AIDS, illegal drugs, and murders. So why do people still smoke or use tobacco? High school students claim that it gives them a sort of “high” that is relaxing. Others say that it makes them look “cool” and helps them fit in. The risks of smoking are known, yet people still do it. Around 30% of cancer deaths in Louisiana are attributed to smoking. This number is shocking as smoking is the most preventable way from getting cancer.
According to SmokeFree.gov, the average cost for a pack of cigarettes in the United States is $6.28. According to this information, a pack day smoker will spend $2,292 on cigarettes each year. I found it interesting that productivity in businesses is directly affected by smoking. Tobacco Free Kids states that smoking causes $2.49 billion in productivity losses in Louisiana each year. An easy example of this would be employees taking smoke breaks. I used to work at Acme and the prevalence of smoke breaks was very common. Every time I walked outside, there would be an employee smoking a cigarette. One employee in particular would smoke around 2 cigarettes every hour. With no ash tray in sight, it was my job at the end of the night to pick up the cigarette butts. I estimate that I had to pick up around 70 to 100 cigarette butts every night.
Last year, the national age to buy tobacco was raised to 21. The minimum age used to be 18, while other states raised the age to 19 before. Still, kids under the age of 18 are using tobacco products. One statistic says that 1,700 kids under the age of 18 in Louisiana become new daily smokers each year. The same statistic also states that 98,000 kids will ultimately die prematurely from smoking. This statistic is alarming, in the fact that these kids legally cannot purchase tobacco. Big tobacco has a hold of children when it comes to advertising. Researchers believe that kids are twice as likely to be influenced by smoking advertisements than adults.
Tobacco use in Louisiana is a growing issue, and until the number of underage kids and adults are aware of the problem then it must be addressed. too many high schoolers use tobacco on a regular basis, though they are under the minimum age to purchase such products. With the newly popular electronic cigarettes, the number of children who use tobacco has risen. More advertisement campaigns against electronic cigarettes must be released and shown to students. Tobacco use in Louisiana may one day be miniscule, however there is a lot of work ahead.
Below are two sources that I referenced in my article:
https://www.tobaccofreekids.org
https://smokefree.gov/quit-smoking/why-you-should-quit/how-much-will-you-save
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