Some Truths about Tobacco UseModule 5

3Tobacco 101: Module 5

Some Truths about Tobacco Use

• Nicotine is a highly addictive drug.

• Like heroin or cocaine, nicotine changes the way your brain works and causes you to crave more and more nicotine.

• It is possible to overcome nicotine’s power. There are resources that can help you quit.

Quitting tobacco use is hard but not impossible.

4Tobacco 101: Module 5

Some Truths about Tobacco Use

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

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

Exercise and healthy eating do not protect against tobacco’s harm.

5Tobacco 101: Module 5

Some Truths about Tobacco Use

In North Carolina, most teens have never tried a cigarette. This means that nearly three-fourths of middle schoolers and more than half of high schoolers have never smoked a cigarette, not even a puff.

Most teens have never used tobacco products.

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Some Truths about Tobacco Use

Slide 3: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 2010. A Report of the Surgeon General: How Tobacco Smoke Causes Disease: What It Means to You. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health. http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/sgr/2010/consumer_booklet/pdfs/consumer.pdf

Slide 4: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2011. “Smoking and Tobacco Use.” http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco

Slide 5:

– North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. 2010. “North Carolina 2009 Youth Tobacco Survey: High School Fact Sheet.” http://www.tobaccopreventionandcontrol.ncdhhs.gov/data/yts/yts09/highschool/2009hsfactsheetstatewide.pdf

– U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 2010. A Report of the Surgeon General: How Tobacco Smoke Causes Disease: What It Means to You. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health. http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/sgr/2010/consumer_booklet/pdfs/consumer.pdf

References

Tobacco 101: Module 5 7

Some Truths about Tobacco Use

Slides 1 and 2: Photographs courtesy of iStockphoto.

Slide 3: Photograph courtesy of Fotosearch, LLC. Illustration courtesy of RTI International.

Slide 4: Illustration courtesy of Comstock/Photos.com.

Slide 5: Illustration courtesy of RTI International.

Photographs are used for illustrative purposes only, and any persons depicted are models.

Photograph Credits

Prepared by Sterling Fulton-Smith, North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services; Sandhya Joshi, RTI International; Caley Burrus, Duke

University; Ronny Bell, Maya Angelou Center for Health Equity; and Barri Burrus, RTI International.

March 2012