"I don't think that it's necessarily cool or anything like that," agrees Nick, 18.

These teens are talking about cigarette smoking and nicotine which, according to a new study from The Journal of Neuroscience, makes kids dumb. In an experiment on rats, nicotine reduced levels of a protein responsible for memory and learning. It also increased brain cell death and reduced the production of new brain cells. Those factors are important throughout a person's life, especially after a bump on the head.

"Generally, people recover from these fairly quickly, but if you have a brain whose restorative process has been interfered with because of early smoking, you may take longer to recover from the injury or you may not recover as well," says Dr. Nick DeFilippis, a neuropsychologist.

If your adolescent says he or she wants to try smoking "because everyone is doing it," or "it's cool," make sure you teach him or her about the negative health risks of smoking. Also, remind your child that more than three-quarters of Americans DON'T smoke and that the number of people who do smoke is dropping constantly.

"But certainly, listen to what they have to say, what they are thinking about smoking, what they say about their friends smoking. And don't just engage in conversation and say, 'Don't smoke, it's bad for you' - most kids understand that," says Ron Todd, director of tobacco control for the American Cancer Society.

Instead, he urges parents to be specific about smoking risks: Smoking is expensive, it causes addiction, makes teeth yellow, gives you bad breath, causes cancer and destroys brain cells.

"Well, I think you'd have to be dumb to start smoking anyway," 17-year-old Libby says.

By Kim Ogletree
CWK Network, Inc.

According to the U.S. Surgeon General, nicotine is the chief principle of tobacco and is "just as addictive as drugs such as heroin or cocaine." Now a new study shows that while the poisonous alkaloid stimulates the release of dopamine - a chemical in the brain that is associated with feelings of pleasure - it also destroys brain cells and prevents others from being produced.

Researchers at the National Institute for Health and Medical Research studied three groups of rats allowed to self-administer low, medium and high amounts of nicotine one hour a day for 42 days. A dissection of the rats' brains revealed that compared to a non-nicotine group, rats with medium and high doses of nicotine suffered a 50% higher loss in the production of new brain cells. The study also showed that all rats taking nicotine experienced a drop in a protein (PSA-NCAM) that helps the brain adapt and which is related to the ability to learn and memorize.

"These results raise an important additional concern for the health consequences of nicotine abuse and open new insight on the possible neural mechanisms of tobacco addiction," the researchers said.

The report, published in The Journal of Neuroscience, is only the latest to identify the dangers of smoking and tobacco use. Consider these previous findings as cited by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):

• Between 1960 and 1990, deaths from lung cancer among women increased by more than 400% - exceeding breast cancer deaths in the mid-1980s.
• Men who smoke increase their risk of death from lung cancer by more than 22 times and from bronchitis and emphysema by nearly 10 times.
• Women who smoke increase their risk of dying from lung cancer by nearly 12 times and the risk of dying from bronchitis and emphysema by more than 10 times.
• Smoking triples the risk of dying from heart disease among middle-aged men and women.
• Every year in the United States, premature deaths from smoking rob more than 5 million years from the potential lifespan of those who have died.
• Annually, exposure to secondhand smoke (or environmental tobacco smoke) causes an estimated 3,000 deaths from lung cancer among American adults.
  

• At least 3.1 million adolescents are current smokers. Smoking is most common among 17- and 18-year-olds.
• By age 18, about two-thirds of young people in the United States have tried smoking.
• Nicotine is generally the first drug used by young people who use alcohol, marijuana and harder drugs.
• Adolescent tobacco use is associated with being in fights, carrying weapons and engaging in higher-risk sexual behavior.
  

Because of nicotine's addictive properties, it is extremely difficult for both adults and teens to successfully quit smoking. Statistics from Action on Smoking and Health in the United Kingdom show that a mere 20% or less of those who embark on a course of treatment succeed in abstaining for as long as a year, while only 3% succeed in quitting by using willpower alone. Therefore, parents need to stress the negative effects of smoking early on in their children's lives. The CDC suggests including the following points in the antismoking education you provide your child:

• Smoking is not personally or socially desirable. Debunk the myths that tobacco is necessary for stress reduction, an attractive appearance and a good social life.
• Smoking takes away a smoker's free choice. Adolescents want to be in control of all areas of their lives. So show your child how tobacco addiction takes away free will, particularly the ability to stop smoking, despite a desire to quit.
• Smoking is not an adult habit or an effective act of rebellion. Present the fact that only 27% of adults smoke to show that smoking doesn't go hand-in-hand with maturity. Tell your teen that if he or she wants to maintain control over his or her life, he or she should rebel against anyone who wants to hook your teen on a habit that is very hard to break.
• It is OK to refuse to smoke. Teens will at times feel a pressure to smoke, no matter how slight, and to engage in other behavior they may not want to. Therefore, it is very important to help your child develop "refusal skills" in order to give him or her the courage to remain true to personal desires and beliefs.
  

You can also take a stand against smoking by following this advice from the ERIC Clearinghouse on Urban Education:

• Establish your home as smoke-free place. Refrain from smoking yourself, if possible, or at least provide a strong antismoking education.
• Remind older children that they are role models for younger family members and that many youth begin to smoke because their older siblings do. So giving up cigarettes will not only improve their own lives, but the lives of their younger relatives.
• Provide your child with good overall supervision and support.
• Talk directly to your teen about the risks of tobacco use. If friends or relatives died from tobacco-related illnesses, let your child know.
• Be aware if your child's friends use tobacco, and talk about the ways your child can avoid peer pressure to take up smoking.
• Discuss with your child the false glamorization of tobacco on billboards and other media, such as movies, television and magazines.
  

Action on Smoking and Health
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
ERIC Clearinghouse on Urban Education
The Journal of Neuroscience
Youth Media Network