A
female
age
36-40,
*iggytoes1818
writes:Ok so im 15 now but I starting drinking when i was 14 and there are only a few people in my grade that do because we are like the popular people...so is it really that young i mean it doesnt feel that way at all and also i smoke not pot but cigarettes and me and my best friend are the only ones who do...i dont really seem the harm and i dont think im too young my mom smoked for 30 years and she never got cancer and never got affected and also it not like im going to be smoking a lot or get adicted...personally i dont think im too young for any of those things, but some people do?
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reader, anonymous, writes (18 April 2008): If you want to carry on with such a naive childish attitude then go for it. There was no point asking for advice if you weren't going to listen to anyone anyway.
And just so I know, what the hell is fun about putting tar into your lungs and turning them black, fag breath (ain't no one gonna wanna kiss that), yellow fingers, smokers cough, yellow teeth and spending all your money on them because you can't stop?
Clearly I'm missing out on something totally fab lol.
A
reader, anonymous, writes (17 April 2008): Hi Love
You ask if anyone can relate hunny well a few people here have told you very private storys of there lives telling you just how they relate and what a mess they got in, I have told you of my own child...I smoke and at this time am in the throws of giving up as Im fed up with it, its horrible discusting and I hate it! I started at school...Alcohol Ive been there to so yes I can relate, I can relate of feeling anxious lacking of self respect just as dr T very bravely told you so these are peoples real life storys of how it ruined there lives, Its not ok it never will be ok, Your young you have your whole life ahead of you DONT GO DOWN THIS ROAD!!!!!
http://www.tendringdc.gov.uk/TendringDC/Community/Young+People/Crucial+Crew/DangersofAlcohol.htm
http://www.canstopsmoking.com/smoking-facts.htm
We are all relating to you sweetheart and trying to help we are not saying OH DONT WORRY GO OUT GET PISSED! SMOKE UNTILL YOU DROP DEAD AND YEA WHY NOT TAKE THOSE DRUGS IT WONT HURT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!BECAUSE IT WILL!!!!!!!DR T Said it all and I for one take my hat of to him for being so honest in his words to help you understand the dangers...You have life keep it TAKE CARE WITH LOTS OF LOVE MANDY XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
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reader, anonymous, writes (17 April 2008): All morality & age issues aside, smoking cagarettes in particular is a complete & total waste of everything.
If you're gonna piss away money and get addicted to something that messes up your lungs, then you could at least be getting high or drunk from it or something. Cigarettes aren't even doing anything for you at all. (The calming effects that cigarettes produce is not even real. It's just getting your system back to how you would have felt if you had never started craving the tobacco. If you hadn't been addicted to tobacco, then you would never have stopped feeling that calm in the first place.)
See what I mean?
Smoking cigarettes is absolutely 100% screwing yourself up just because a big corporation told you it was a cool idea. It's that simple.
And it WILL NOT even be cool much longer. Not at all. Where I'm from, most kids had stopping thinking that smoking cigarettes was anything extra-special cool by the time they were 17-18. It was just a normal thing by then. But half the school was already too addicted to quit even though they were beginning to want to quit by 18. (That's how they get you for life.)
And don't kid yourself -- tobacco is just as addictive as crack or heroin or any of those "serious" drugs. It might not leave you living in the street the same way those other "scary" drugs can, but it's every bit as addictive and hard to quit as they are.
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female
reader, piggytoes1818 +, writes (17 April 2008):
piggytoes1818 is verified as being by the original poster of the questionok i have self cntrol and i took over my sisters account to clear up the confusion and i am i think responcible and everyone is say to fit in thats not why im doing it i said we are the first and it would be fun!!! but i think the consiquences are rare like i know a lot of adults who are doing wat im doing and they are fine.....can anyone relate here???
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reader, anonymous, writes (16 April 2008): "we are like the popular people" --- HOWS UP YOUR SELF ARE YOU?! omg! lol you have to laugh at this! you are smoking and drinking becuase you think you are "the popular people" GET OVER YOUR SELF!!
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reader, Dr T  +, writes (16 April 2008):
Hey there,
I started smoking at 13, I first tried to stop in college because I was broke and it was costing me a fortune. I was 18 then, I eventually quit when I was 34! It cost me 10's of thousands, ruined my health, stained my teeth, made me SMELL terrible. Think about it, you smoke..you STINK!!! not good. Every time I coughed, I thought about lung cancer and the pains in my chest, I burned a hole in my clothes or someone moved away from me because of the smell of tobacco I wished I could go back in time and tell that 13 year old boy not to do it, its not cool. But it took me over 10 years just to stop?!?!?
For me that was the lesser of two evils. By time I was in my early twenties I was a hardened drinker, I could drink almost everyone I knew (including much older men) under the table and thought that it was cool, that I was a 'real man'.. I have been arrested, woken up in jail with no idea how I got there...been to my friends funerals, woken up in hospital, woken up on the street robbed, woken up in bed with women I dont even know. Lost jobs, lost good girlfriends, lost good friends, lost my drivers licence at one point...dropped out of college, lost the respect of my family, lost my self respect,lost YEARS of my life.. I finally broke down and crying like a baby for weeks because I had to admit to myself that I was an alcoholic and if I continued to drink I would be most likely dead in a few years...real manly huh? its simply: drinking can be very dangerous.
There are government warnings on ciggies for a reason honey, they kill you. Alcohol should not be sold to minor because its highly addictive and dangerous. Just be careful.
So many more things you can do that are so much fun and dont involve nicotine and alcohol. Look about you: watch smokers and drinkers, then look at people who dont ..who looks better? Who seems more relaxed?
Be safe, enjoy life
Dr T
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reader, anonymous, writes (16 April 2008): you should stop all of this before it gets too far just because ur not addicted to the cigarretes yet doesn't mean anything it only takes one try for you to become addicted.
Its fine to drink alcohol but only a small amount - remember you are still underage.
Stop Now Think about your future and how all this will affect ur life.
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reader, anonymous, writes (16 April 2008): Hi Hunny
I'll be very honest with you, Ok you may have slipped up with the age at the top as you openly admit your 15 so that would be a little daft, My son who is now 26 thought just like you, "It wont hurt" But my love it does hurt to see your beautiful child turn from a lovely person to one who craves alcohol to a point that he will steal to get it...Then end up in rehab crying because he cant stop shaking and he has no confidence has panic attacks all the time and really doesnt like himself very much. But deep down he is a lovely soul who got in with peer preasure...You no that there is something not quite right sweetheart or you would not have written. You are 15yrs old you have a life ahead, You dont want to have these things tied to you like a ball and chain that if you cant have them you feel heavy and sad...So really think hunny, I no there is alot of young adults out there today that think its cool to do all this but Ive seen it from a very different point of view love and its heartbreaking as it weakens you, all you strength is taken and you are left with depression and anxiety, It all seems like great fun to begin with but down the line when you are needing it so bad that you canot function its a whole different story..So sweetheart my advice to you is think very clearly if you want to be in control of your own life or you want these things to be in control of it for you.....
http://www.soundvision.com/Info/teens/drug.asp
YOU TAKE GOOD CARE OF YOU HUNNY WITH LOTS OF LOVE AND HUGS MANDY XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
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reader, anonymous, writes (16 April 2008): Just because your mum didn't get ill from smoking, doesn't mean you won't. My mother is currently suffering from advanced lung cancer, she has around four months left. What makes you think you can beat it?
As for drinking because the popular people do... Well that's just silly. How much of a sheep can you be? If they jumped off of a cliff, would you do it too?
There's a reason there are age restrictions on smoking and alcohol. And it's not because they want to ruin your fun or make you boring - it's because at your age your body isn't capable of dealing with all the toxins you're putting into it and they're damaging you.
In this world your body is the only thing you have full control over. So why you would want to allow a smoking addiction take you over and take away your power, I have no idea.
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female
reader, BigSis  +, writes (16 April 2008):
 I spotted that too, Frank.
If you are really 22-25 as it says above, then you are old enough to make those decisions yourself.
Personally I think you're more likely to be 13-15..and..
...therefore it's not a good thing at all what you're doing.
You're abusing your own body, as it's still developing and you have begun that journey of self destruction, you will ruin every chance you have of growing up healthy. Think of your insides = your organs, and your outside = your skin.
My advice? Try and stop, you said you wont get addicted....do you realise how hard it is to give up smoking? Believe me ~ it's not easy.
Your health comes first then you have to think these things cost money.
Please take care of yourself, because in years to come, you'll wish you never started, that I can guarantee. It's not clever and it certainly doesn't look cool.
Best of luck and look after yourself.
BigSis xXx
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female
reader, happytochat  +, writes (16 April 2008):
Hi darling,
Yes there are alot of reasons why you shouldnt be doing what you are doing. All of those things arent healthy for ANYONE neverless someone of your age.
Statistics show that if you start drinking before the legal age it increases your chances of becoming an alcoholic by A LOT!!! You may think you wont become one, but statistics say you have a high chance since you have already started. Do you know why it is illegal for someone of your age to drink? Not only is it because it increases your chances of becoming an alcoholic but because it causes brain damage. At your age, your brain hasnt full developed, you are still growing, so if you drink before the legal age, it will damage your brain therefor having problems later in life.
You say that since you dont smoke alot then you arent going to get addicted. You cant possiblity predict what is going to hapen to you in the future. All of the people who end up addicted to smoking, drugs and alcohol never imagined they would become like that either. They didnt want to be like that, but they did. And to be honest its usualy those who start doing things like that at a young have who have addiction problems later in life. This is due to the fact that from an early age, you smoke, drink and do drugs for reasons such as to fit in, to feel accepted, and to 'wash away your problems'. So you never learn HEALTHY ways of dealing with problems in life so when you grow up, thats what you do because you dont know any better.
As a previous answer stated, it also worries me that you feel that because your smoke and drink it means you are cool. I understand that at your age you want everyone to like you, you want ot be seen as cool and and feel loved etc...But if people only like you because your smoke and drink then what sort of friends are they? They arent TRUE friends. They arent the people who will be by your side when you are crying your eyes out because something bad happened. They arent the people who will help you study for an exam. They arent the people who will be there for you through the good times AND THE BAD. So ask yourself, are these poeple you are trying so hard to impress going to be there for you for all those times if you stop smoking and drinking? If the answer is yes, then you may have good friends, so why not stop? If they are true friends they will still be there for you. But if they wont be there for you if you give up smoking and drinking then they arent good people. They are not worth your time and you deserve alot beter.
Maybe you should do some research on smoking and drinking so you can better understand the effects.
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male
reader, Frank B Kermit  +, writes (16 April 2008):
 Your user name says age 22-25.
Your question says age 15.
Which one is the lie?
You say: i dont really seem the harm and i dont think im too young
Of course you don't. You are already used to lying, so what is a couple more lies to yourself, right?
If you really want to start getting a hold on your life, try being honest with yourself first.
-Frank B Kermit
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female
reader, Twirly +, writes (16 April 2008):
 PS I started smoking at 17 and never thought I would get addicted! Im 34 now and still puffing away! I wish so much I had never started so do watch out if you really don't want to become addicted as it's ever so hard to prevent it from becoming a habit!
My little Sister is 21 and she always said she'd never get addicted but she did as well!
Be careful! :o) x
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female
reader, Twirly +, writes (16 April 2008):
It's entirely up to you but my thoughts are that you have your whole life to drink and smoke, and so little time to enjoy being young so why rush?
Most of my friends and myself started going out to pubs etc... after the age of 16, during A-level college, as the drinking age here is 18 and most places here serve students 16+ (or they used to do in my day!)
It sounds as though you and your friend are ahead of your peers in discovering drink and cigarettes, so it's really up to you to decide if you want to cool it a bit till you're a little older, or carry on.
It worries me to hear you say you drink and smoke because you're in the popular group though, as you will find out soon enough that being popular at school doesn't necessarily translate into later life! So many times you see the so-called members of the popular crowd still in the same town on second divorces ten years later, while the kids who studied and worked hard and partied later when they'd got their grades, are off out there with much more successful and fulfilling lives.
Im sure it all seems exciting and cool right now, but the novelty will soon wear off! x xx
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reader, anonymous, writes (16 April 2008): Hey piggytoes,
We had a guy in the neighborhood who didn't smoke, but he drank. I think he thought he was invincible. Well, he wasn't, as it turns out. He drove home from a party with a bit too much alcohol in him and he wasn't wearing a seatbelt. He swerved, drove off the road and was ejected from the car and died on the spot.
You think you're invincible, you know everything, well guess what. You know nothing, you're just a baby an you need to wake up!
The worst part was the funeral, 100s of kids who were so shaken up at seeing him in the coffin.
Drink, drive, you die. Simple. Game of chance really.
So stop being such a stupid wiseass. Try just being wise, or you get to be the one in the coffin.
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