Testing the boundaries of teens and tobacco

Published 4:57 pm Saturday, October 15, 2011

QUESTION: How can I re-enforce my teenager’s decision to never try tobacco?

ANSWER: Try sharing these “Test Your Tobacco I.Q.” questions over a supper hour.

1. A new study shows that smoking limits the growth of teens’:

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a.   brains

b.   lungs

c.   hands

d.   whole bodies

2. Cigarette smoke contains the same chemical used in:

a.   rat poison

b.   toilet bowl cleaner

c.   dead frog preserver

d.   all of the above

3. Besides being the main ingredient in cigarettes, tobacco leaves are also used:

a.  as herbal seasoning

b.  to make bug killers

c.  in tea

d.  in fertilizer

4. The number of people who die in the United States each day of smoking- related diseases  could fill:

a.  a space shuttle

b.  a bus

c.  three jumbo jets

d.  a stadium

5. The nicotine a smoker inhales from cigarette smoke:

a. reaches the brain within a few seconds

b. leaves the body when the smoker exhales

c. never leaves the lungs

d. has no effect on the body

 

6. An adult could be killed by 60 milligrams of nicotine (that’s about the same as 120 grams of salt) IF they took it all at once.  60 milligrams of nicotine can be found in:

a. 7,000 cigarettes

b. 700 cigarettes

c. 70 cigarettes

d. 7 cigarettes

7. Which of the following body organs is affected by smoking:

a.  the voice box (larynx)

b.  stomach

c.  lungs

d.  all of the above

8. Smokeless tobacco (tobacco held in the mouth between the cheek and the gum):

a. is less harmful than cigarettes           b. can cause puffy cheeks

c. can cause sores in the mouth and gums

d. has the same amount of nicotine as a cigarette

9. Chewing nicotine gum, which supplies low doses of nicotine:

a.  gives smokers fresh breath

b.  is just as harmful as smoking cigarettes

c.  may help smokers break the smoking habit

d.  both a and b

10. Twenty minutes after a person quits smoking, his/her ________ returns to normal:

a.  pulse or heart rate

b.  risk of having a heart attack

c.  risk of getting lung cancer

d.  lung capacity

11. The nicotine in tobacco will:

a.  make the heart work harder

b.  increase the chance of a heart attack

c.  be a risk for the baby of a pregnant woman

d.  all of the above

12. When you smoke your skin will:

a.  turn yellow

b.  be dryer

c.  develop wrinkles sooner

d.  all of the above

 

If you would like to talk to about the challenges in raising children, call the toll-free Parent WarmLine at 1-888-584-2204/Línea de Apoyo at 877-434-0528.  For free emergency child care call Crisis Nursery at 1-877-434-9599.