SOMEteenagerstakeupsmokingduringtheholidayseitherbecausetheybecome"rich"enoughtoaffordapackofcigarettesortheythinktheylook"cool".Everyoneknowsthat"smokingisbadforyou",butdosmokersreallyknowwhatthehealthwarningsmeantothem?
Smoking,theworld'ssecondleadingcauseofpreventabledeath,kills4.9millionpeopleayear,theUnitedNationssaidonFebruary27.Theworldhasaboutl.2billionsmokersandWorldHealthOrganizationsurveysshowthatabout20percentofthemarechildrenagedbetween13and15yearsold.
Onthesameday,aglobaltreaty(公约) aimedatencouragingchildrennottosmokeandhelppeoplekickthehabitcameintoforce.Thisisthefirstworldwideagreementonapublichealthissue.Itwillseestrongwarningsaddedtocigarettepacketsandabanonalltobaccoadvertising.
Youngsmokersmaythinklittleofthehealtheffectsofsmoking.Butsmokingcanstopthemfrommakingfriends,asmostnon-smokersdon'tlikebeingaroundsmokers.
"IfeelsickwhenIseepeopleofmyagesmoke.Smokersmakethemselveslooklesseducated,"saidShiQingyu,aSenior3studentatLuanxianNo1HighSchoolinHebeiProvince.Oncewhileonabus,heaskedagirlwhowassmokingnexttohimtoputouthercigarette.
ForWangGezhu,aSeniorl girlfromWuxiFurenHighSchoolinJiangsuProvince,boyswhosmokearelessattractive.
"Boysthatsmokemaythinktheyarecoolorimpressive,butIthinktheylookweird(怪异的) comparedtootherordinarystudentsinmyeyes.Theyonlydowhatotherswon'triskdoing,"Wangsaid.
Everyonewantstoimpressothers,buttherearewaystoshowoffotherthansmoking.
OnFebruary26,around200studentsfromacrossthecountrygatheredinBeijingtobeawardedfortheiroutstandingperformanceinthe2004"SunflowerCup".Theprogrammeincludedseveralcontestsinwriting,calligraphy (书法),drawingandpainting.Itaimedtoencouragestudentstotakepartinmeaningfulactivitiessothattheycouldspendtheirfreetimedevelopinghealthyhabitsandhobbies.
"Teenagersareenergeticandquicktolearn,bothgoodandbadthings.Forthesakeoftheirownhealth,teenagersshouldlearntosaynotothe