From October 1st, anyone who smokes in a car with an under 18 year old in could be fined £50. Even if you’re under-18 and driving, if someone else is in your car and under 18, you’re going to be fined.
Usually in films and on telly they ‘make smoking look cool’, in reality, you look a bit more like this…
Here’s some facts about smoking, don’t start… don’t even think about it.
- Don’t know if you heard, but it’s not good for you (it’s bloody awful)
Every year around 100,000 in the UK people die from smoking, with many more deaths caused by smoking-related illnesses. (http://www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/2344.aspx?CategoryID=53)
- It’s not just the smoke, even the stuff you can’t see is dangerous
80% of smoke is invisible (http://www.nhs.uk/smokefree/why-quit/secondhand-smoke) and it contains more than 4,000 chemicals, including 70 cancer-causing chemicals and hundreds of other poisons. (https://www.blf.org.uk/Page/Smoking-the-facts)
- No one who’s anyone smokes anymore
Smoking rates in 16-24 year olds have gone from 44% to 23% between 1974 and 2013 (source: http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/dcp171778_386291.pdf page 22)
- It messes up your face
Chemicals in cigarettes restrict blood flow to your skin. Smokers have more wrinkled and saggy faces by the time they’re in their mid-20s. (NHS CHOICES: http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/smoking/Pages/Teensmokersquit.aspx)
- You know you can spend your money on better stuff, right? £2,000 a year, just imagine…
The average smoker in England could save enough money for a month’s gym membership
No, not that one, this one…
(Calculator: http://www.nicorette.co.uk/quitting-tools/budget-calculator or http://www.hscic.gov.uk/catalogue/PUB11454/smok-eng-2013-rep.pdf)
- It’s not even like you’re rebelling against your parents
A 15-year-old who lives with a smoking parent is almost twice as likely to smoke as one who lives with parents who don’t. (page 8)
- Back in the day, governments had a different approach
The first UK Government health warnings started appearing on cigarette packages in 1971, they were pretty small:
Source: http://www.retrowow.co.uk/retro_britain/70s/smoking_70s.html
In Japan they went with
‘For the good of your health, be careful not to smoke too much’
or
Kenkō no tame, suisugi ni chūi shimashō
(Source: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2015/03/16/language/dont-say-havent-warned/#.Vdx3V6HTXcs)
The Phillipines went with a slightly different vibe
‘Smoking causes a slow painful death’ on theirs.
(Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tobacco_packaging_warning_messages#Philippines)
This is what it’ll be like in the future:
- It’s only recently you stopped being able to smoke on trains
Smoking on planes was only banned in 1988 (http://www.ehow.co.uk/facts_6815169_law-smoking-planes.html), which is the year Rihanna was born, so she never got the chance. Smoking on trains got banned in ’84 in case you wondering.
- In case you were wondering, quitting also helps save the planet.
Tobacco production accounts for nearly 5% of overall deforestation in the developing world.
(NHS CHOICES: http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/smoking/Pages/Teensmokersquit.aspx)
- And, well, it’s ‘good for your whole body’
Smoking also affects the reproductive system and sex organs. Men can have difficulty getting an erection and it can reduce sperm count. (Source: https://www.blf.org.uk/Page/Smoking-the-facts)
