• Don’t get trapped. Nicotine in cigarettes, cigars, and spit tobacco is addictive.

• Nicotine narrows your blood vessels and puts added strain on your heart.

• Smoking can wreck lungs and reduce oxygen available for muscles used during sports.

• Smokers suffer shortness of breath (gasp!) almost 3 times more often than nonsmokers.

• Smokers run slower and can’t run as far, affecting overall athletic performance.

• Cigars and spit tobacco are NOT safe alternatives See tip sheets Health effects of cigar use and About spit tobacco.
  

• Yuck! Tobacco smoke can make hair and clothes stink.

• Tobacco stains teeth and causes bad breath.

• Short-term use of spit tobacco can cause cracked lips, white spots, sores, and bleeding in the mouth.

• Surgery to remove oral cancers caused by tobacco use can lead to serious changes in the face.

• Despite the impact of movies, music, and TV, parents can be the GREATEST INFLUENCE in youths’ lives.

• Talk directly to youth about the risks of tobacco use; if friends or relatives died from tobacco-related illnesses let them know.

• If you use tobacco, you can still make a difference. Your best move, of course, is to try to quit (visit  to find out how). Meanwhile, don’t use tobacco in a youth’s presence, don’t offer it to them, and don’t leave it where they can easily get it.

• Start the dialogue about tobacco use at age 5 or 6 and continue through their high school years. Many youths start using tobacco by age 11, and many are addicted by age 14.

• Know if your kids’ friends use tobacco. Talk about ways to refuse tobacco.

• Discuss with youths the false glamorization of tobacco on billboards, and other media, such as movies, TV, and magazines.

• Vote with your pocketbook. Support businesses that don’t sell tobacco to youths. Frequent restaurants and other places that are tobacco-free.

• Be sure your schools and all school events (i.e., parties, sporting events, etc.) are tobacco-free.

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