Currently, even though they already know the effects and dangers of smoking, in reality there are still many people who smoke and ignore the various health risks that are even clearly written on every pack of cigarettes.
Data from the Indonesian Ministry of Health shows that as many as 80% of total smokers in Indonesia have started smoking since they were under 19 years old. The age group with the highest number of smokers is 15-19 years, followed by the 10-14 years age group in second place. In fact, the impact of smoking on children and adolescents is in fact very serious, and can even cause death in some severe cases. Here are some of the health effects that can be experienced if someone smokes from a young age.
- The lungs stop growing
Starting smoking habits too early is very influential on lung development. Smoking causes disturbances in the growth and development of the lungs in children and adolescents which can cause chronic health problems when they grow up. For example, a disease that is often known as COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) will arise.
When smoking habits in children and adolescents are successfully stopped, there is a possibility that their lungs can develop again. However, a study states that if a child smokes for 20 days, the bad impact on his lungs is the same as someone who has smoked for 40 years and he is also more at risk of suffering from lung cancer.
- Symptoms of heart disease and blood vessels
Not only does it stop lung development, smoking at a young age can also cause damage to the circulatory system which will gradually get worse as he grows up. When he enters adulthood, it is not impossible that various diseases can form, such as coronary heart disease, which is 2-4 times the risk of getting it, atherosclerosis, heart failure, heart attack, and stroke. These diseases are the main cause of high youth mortality worldwide.
Research on 20 million people over several years showed an increase in the prevalence of myocardial infarction and coronary heart disease (CHD) in people who actively smoke by 70% compared to people who do not smoke.
- Tooth decay
Smoking is the main cause of dental and oral health problems. Nearly half of the infections that occur in the mouth occur in active smokers with an age range under 30 years. A study also proves the same thing, namely active smokers at a very young age have more caries, plaque, and various gum and mouth infections compared to children their age who do not smoke.
- Problems with muscles and bones
Research in a fairly large scope was conducted in Belgium and involved as many as 677 adolescents. From this study it is known that adolescents who frequently smoke have low bone density and experience a decrease in peak growth that should occur at their age. Similar to previous research, a study involving 1,000 teenage boys in Sweden found that the group who smoked experienced bone fragility and reduced bone density or density in the spine, neck, skull, and in the hands and feet.
- Cancer
Cigarettes contain carcinogenic compounds that can induce mutations or cell division at the DNA level so that they can cause cancer. Lung cancer is the main cancer caused by smoking.
In addition to lung cancer, smoking can also cause cancer of the mouth, larynx, oro and hypopharynx, esophagus, stomach, pancreas, liver, large intestine, kidney, bladder, testicles, cervix and leukemia.
Those are some of the health risks that can occur if someone starts smoking as a teenager. It is better for parents not to set a bad example such as smoking in front of their children and to pay more attention to the environment around their children so that they do not fall into bad-influenced associations. Let's prevent smoking from an early age so that it doesn't have a serious impact on the child's growth process in the future.
Article written by dr. Deva Bachtiar, Sp.P (Asthma & Lung Specialist at EMC Sentul Hospital).