The Causes And Consequences Of Cigarette Smoking Among Youth

Smoking is a practice in which a substances such as, tobacco, marijuana or cannabis is burned and the smoke tasted or inhaled Akintaro (2015). It is primarily practiced as a route of administration for recreation of drug use, as combustion release the active substances in drugs such as nicotine and makes them available for absorption through the lungs. It can be done as a part of rituals to induce trances and spiritual enlightenment, (Lock, Reyndds and Tansey, 1998). Smoking is one of the most common forms of recreational drug use. In recent times, tobacco smoking is by far the most popular form of smoking ahead of pipes, cigars and chewing tobacco and is practiced by over one billion people in the majority of all human societies resulting in nearly 2 billion people, that is a third of the world’s population being exposed to pulmonary tuberculosis pathogen (Philips 2010; World Health Organization, 2002).

Smoking is one of the most common addictions of modern times. It has been implicated as an etiological agent for various chronic diseases, including a variety of infection, cancer, heart disease, and respiratory illness such as chronic obstacle pulmonary disease, that have impairment in the balance between cells growth and cells death, which, put together, are leading the cause of morbidity and mortality in today society (Zhonget al, 2008; Mehta et al, 2008). Unless smoking cigarette patterns are reserve, the world health organization estimated that by 2020-2030, cigarette smoking will be responsible for 10million death per year, with 70percent of them occurring in the developing counties like Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Egypt, Senegal and many other countries in Asia, Latin America (WHO 2001; Suriyaproum et al.; 2007).

Smoking has been shown to be a leading cause of premature mortality and morbidity resulting in several millions of deaths globally. It has been predicted that if the pattern currently seen among youth continues, a lifetime of tobacco use would result in the deaths of 250 million children and young people alive today, most of them in developing countries (WHO, 2012). National Population Commission (2009) submitted that Nigeria is one of the most populous countries in Africa, with an estimated population of 162 million people of which youth are estimated to be more than 30%. In Nigeria, the prevalence of tobacco use among adults(12.3% males < 1% in females) is generally lower than in more developed countries, however, prevalence among youth tends to be higher than among adults, a mean lifetime smoking prevalence of 26.4% was reported among secondary school students with values ranging from 7.2% to 42.9% (Odukoya, Odeyemi, Oyeyemi and Updhyay, 2013).