CASE STUDY ANALYSIS OF SMOKING TENDENCIES AMONG THE ADOLESCENTS

Abstract

Importance of the thesis. Nowadays, it is no secret that smoking is becoming a "fashion" of the century. Especially, the fact that this disease is spreading among young people shows that not enough work is being done on this topic. If we look at the global indicators, in the US, this indicator has decreased significantly among adults over the last 40 years, but it is taking root among young people. It is very sad that even 10-year-old teenagers start smoking. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 16 million Americans live with smoking-related diseases.It also reports that cigarette smoking causes more than 480,000 deaths in the United States each year. This means more than 1,300 deaths every day. More than 90% of smokers started before the age of 18. Most of them started smoking at the age of 11-13. According to the statistics of the European Union countries, " Nowadays, 600,000 high school students and 3 million people in higher education institutions smoke in each country," official data say. 1/3 of people aged 16-26 quit smoking. Secondhand smoke causes 150,000 to 300,000 lower respiratory tract infections in infants and 7,500 to 15,000 children under 18 months of age visit to hospital each year. (American Lung Association, 2020). In nonsmokers, exposure to secondhand smoke increases the risk of developing heart disease by 25% to 30%. (2021) All this shows how relevant the topic is. The spread of smoking among young people, in turn, causes an increase in the number of diseases such as lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and chronic bronchitis.