Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
Chapter 9 Tobacco 271
Friends
Another social factor that infl uences smoking habits is whether or not
a teenager’s friends smoke. Many teenagers smoke their fi rst cigarette with
a friend. Teenagers who have friends who smoke are much more likely to
become smokers themselves. The infl uence of peers who smoke is stronger
than the infl uence of family members who smoke. Not surprisingly, teen-
agers whose friends smoke are offered cigarettes much more frequently
than those whose friends do not smoke.
Teenagers may experience peer pressure to smoke. Peer pressure is the in-
fl uence of peers on an individual. When used to encourage an individual to
do something unsafe, unhealthy, or uncomfortable, peer pressure is negative.
Teenagers may worry that they will not be liked or accepted by their peer group
if they choose not to smoke. Real friends, however, would not want their friends
to endanger their health or do something that makes them feel uncomfortable.
Media
Celebrities are trendsetters and role models. People often look to
celebrities for ideas about fashionable clothing, new hairstyles, and life-
style choices. One of these lifestyle choices may be smoking, and teenagers
are likely to imitate the smoking habits of celebrities they admire.
peer pressure
the internal feeling that
one must conform to the
wishes of friends to earn
their approval
Lesson 9.2 Review
Know and Understand
1. Identify the four stages of substance abuse.
2. Defi ne tolerance. How does tolerance drive a
nicotine addiction?
3. Explain the difference between psychological
dependence and physical dependence.
4. Describe how experimentation with identity may
lead teenagers to begin smoking.
5. Identify three social factors that may cause a
teenager to begin using tobacco.
Analyze and Apply
6. How might withdrawal symptoms cause a person
to return to abusing a substance after quitting?
7. How do parents’ behavior and attitudes
about tobacco infl uence their children’s future
decisions about tobacco use?
List every television show or movie you watch over a
three-day period, noting those that have characters
who smoke. Describe each character and the
situation and setting in which smoking occurs. In
each instance, describe how the use of a cigarette
as a prop conveys information about the character or
the story. Could this information have been conveyed
in a way that did not use a tobacco product? Write
a paragraph about the infl uence these shows might
have on adolescents.
Real World Health
8. Explain how sports or media fi gures might
infl uence a teenager to use or not use tobacco.
Assess