Position Paper 1 My Name
Course name and number
Your 16 year old comes into the house after attending a party, smelling of cigarettes and
marijuana.
Not a true situation for me. Position Paper 2 Smoking among youth has long been a public problem. Nowadays many adolescence
who are trying cigarettes or marijuana, over time become addicted. Also smoking rather it be
cigarettes or marijuana has very serious consequences for the health of a young person.
“Adolescents are at higher risk from substance abuse than adults because of the way their brains
respond to those substances. The brain undergoes major development all through adolescence
and continues into the mid- to late 20s. A person develops the capacity for vision, movement and
coordination well before what we call the "executive functions" of self-control, planning, rational
decision-making or judgment.” (September, 2012). Quitting smoking is very difficult and many
people do not succeed, so it is important to respond quickly to the suspicion that your child has
tried those stimulants.
Young people who reach for cigarettes, usually wants to impress their peers. They think
they look more mature when holding a cigarettes. They count on the acceptance of the
environment. Sometimes in a company where smoking is the norm, a non-smoker is exposed to
mockery and exclusion from the group. Very often children who are reaching for cigarettes or
marijuana do not find themselves in reality - they do not stand out, they deal badly with failures
in school and among their peers. In their case the cigarettes or marihuana is supposed to
compensate for all the gaps. Teenagers growing up with depression and anxiety tend to lend on
marijuana to get them out of their different moods and make them feel better about themselves.
There are a lot of signs and symptoms from teenagers who abuse drugs and also who have a drug
addiction problem. “Any teenager who suffers from severe anxiety or depression has been found
to be at higher risk for substance abuse. A family history of anxiety or depression also puts your
child at higher risk. Obviously, treating the depression must be a high priority, but recognizing
the higher risk of substance abuse is also important.” (Substance Abuse in Teenagers). Young Position Paper 3 smokers questioned about the cause of smoking cigarettes claim that smoking calms and relaxes
them. It is true that teenage life is difficult and stressful. Cigarettes help them to recover, deal
with stress and failure. Researchers point out that nicotine dependency is more susceptible to
young people with a tendency to depression and aggressive behavior. It has been estimated that
anxiety can accompany them for up to 45-60% of the time, and that means they have to live with
it every day. This makes them more likely to seek solace in nicotine addiction.
Another very important cause of youth smoking is easy access to cigarettes and a pattern passed
on to the family. A child who is raised among smokers often makes a habit of consenting to such
behavior. It seems to him that cigarettes are not bad. Besides, the habit of tobacco smoke makes
the first experience with a cigarette not as negative as it is for children who are not used to it. In
addition, the child often imitates the parents in everything they do. So if they smoke, why he
would not smoke?
Cigarette smoking destroys the young organism. Keep in mind all harmful cigarette smoke
components, such as: ammonia, cyanide or formaldehyde. Nicotine itself is responsible for the
addiction to cigarettes. At high doses, however, it is a strong poison. In person body, enough as
70 milligrams of nicotine can cause death. Cigarette smoking weakens the immune system and
increases susceptibility to disease. There is a link between smoking and cardiovascular disease,
stroke and heart failure. There is also no doubt that smoking cigarettes is conducive to the
development of cancer, especially lung cancer. It also reduces the smoker's life and reduces the
quality of the smoker. The earlier you start smoking, the worse the consequences for the health
and life of the smoker. People who started smoking before the age of 15 and smoked 20-30
cigarettes a day, live on average 8 years shorter. Position Paper 4 Damaging side effects may be present when smoking marijuana but it is often found that
smoking three joints is similar to smoking twenty cigarettes in relation to the harmful effects that
both present. Marijuana smoke contains fifty to seventy percent more carcinogenic hydrocarbons
than tobacco smoke. “The use of marijuana can cause anxiety, depression, fast heart rate, lung
damage, increased risk of heart attacks, and suicidal thoughts” (Biehl, 2015). Also it have
significant effects on the brain, including impairing memory and coordination. Marijuana causes
the heart to beat up to forty times more per minute. This can cause heart attacks or heart failure.
Approximately 1% of all heart attack victims suffer their heart attacks on the same day as using
marijuana and .2% of victims say that they smoked marijuana within one hour of their attack.
Lastly, research demonstrates that marijuana has the potential to cause problems in daily life or
make a person’s existing problems even worse. “In one study, heavy marijuana abusers reported
that the drug impaired several important actions of life accomplishment, including physical and
mental health, career status and social life. Several studies linked marijuana smoking with
increased nonappearances, sluggishness, accidents, etc.” (Abuse, N. I.).
Eliminating nicotine or marijuana addiction is becoming increasingly important. The
fight against addiction is extremely difficult, so it is best to eliminate the problem before it even
comes out. Parents should take initiative when finding out that their children taking drugs or
have been on drugs for a substantial amount of time. I believe that primary parents should
establish a system of consequences for the teenager’s actions. Parents must enforce to their
children that drugs come with consequences but not where it is too implausible and can’t be
executed. Mother and father must be on the same page when it comes to the implementing of
rules. Parents must know the whereabouts of what their teenagers are up to at all times from
location to their peers. Position Paper References:
Abuse, N. I. (n.d.). Marijuana. Retrieved July 04, 2017, from
https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/marijuana Biehl, J. R., & Burnham, E. L. (2015). Cannabis Smoking in 2015: A Concern for Lung Health?
Chest, 148(3), 596-606. doi:10.1378/chest.15-0447
September 2012. (n.d.). Retrieved July 06, 2017, from http://healthcarenews.com/youthsubstance-abuse-still-a-serious-problem/
Substance Abuse in Teenagers. (n.d.). Retrieved July 04, 2017, from
http://www.pedsforparents.com/general/103136/substance-abuse-in-teenagers/ 5

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