Restaurant Smoking Bans Decrease Teen Smoking

A recent study shows that restaurant smoking bans help to persuade teenagers not to become smokers. Teens who lived in towns with strict bans were 40 percent less likely to become regular smokers than teens that lived in communities without bans or that had weak bans. Smoking bans discourage tobacco use and sends out the message that smoking is not healthy. The ban also reduces the amount of smoke that teens are exposed to in public places.

Having a parent or close friend that smokes can be an influence as to whether or not a teenager experiments with cigarettes but strong bans in public places play a bigger role in whether a not the teen will develop a smoking habit. The study also found that the bans had a greater effect on younger teens than older teens.

Teens and the Addictive Powers of Smoking

Researchers have found that teenagers can get addicted to nicotine by smoking just one cigarette. After just one cigarette, a powerful reward system is set up in the brain. The more often a person smokes, the stronger the cravings will be.

Teenagers and Plastic Surgery

The rise continues with teenagers and preteens having plastic surgery to fix what they think are flaws. The United States has the highest number of plastic surgery patients per year with Brazil and Spain following next. At least 10 percent of the patients are minors under the age of 18.

Most surgeons refuse to operate on minors, even with the parent’s consent, but there are some surgeons that wouldn’t have a problem with it. Some parents even encourage plastic surgery on their children and give nose jobs or collagen injections as gifts.