Issue link: https://www.hub.camaf.co.za/i/847333
5 YOU ARE A TEENAGER If you start smoking now, you will be among the 90% of adult smokers who started in their teens. You may well see smoking as a way of establishing your independence and of becoming "an adult". You probably think smoking is "cool" and you want to do what your peers do. You might believe that you can quit, easily and any-time you choose (although you've probably already tried and failed to quit). huge advertising budgets are aimed directly at you. we SuggeSt that an unhealthy damaging habit is no way to create your own independent identity. Killing yourself slowly is not cool or clever in any way. The addiction is powerful and you'd better respect it. The peers you really want to look up to are those who make smart choices. YOU ARE SENIOR Not as young as you once were. Elderly even. Old? Maybe. You have been smoking for 20 years or more and you can already see and feel the effects of your smoking. You do want to quit (despite what you sometimes say). You try to persuade yourself that "it won't happen to me" and you sometimes say things like "we all die sometime". You may think that the damage is irreversible and there is no point in quitting. we SuggeSt, with great respect, that you are wrong in every area. Your smoking will cause major health problems but if you quit the risks will start to decline almost immediately. Not only are you likely to live longer but you will live better with more energy, better brain function, fewer illnesses, less hospitalisations. Better & Longer. And it IS possible. There is not a moment to lose. SO, ThIS WEEK: it's time set targets. We really want you to quit altogether (but if you opt to just cut down that's up to you) and the research shows that choosing a date that is at least 2 weeks away, helps. • i now smoke ______________________ cigarettes a day • my quitting-date will be ______________________ • in ten weeks i will smoke ______________________ cigarettes a day