One of the behavioral issues affecting Canadians is cigarette smoking among teenagers. Other than the adverse health effects associated with smoking, evidence from research studies show trends in progression from cigarette smoking to use of illicit drugs. Thus, smoking may start as a minor issue among teenagers and grow into a monstrous issue with addiction to illicit drugs. As some of the studies point out, one of the major ways that acts as a gateway to drug abuse is cigarette smoking. Cigarette smoking ends up making tremendous erosions on progress made on tobacco control and overall control of illicit drugs in the Canadian population. Thus, this paper holds the hypothesis that if teenagers smoke cigarettes, they are more likely to use illicit drugs. The discussion will explore the evidence emphasizing that cigarette smoking is a gateway to other drugs among teenagers.
Cigarette smoking among teenagers
In the Canadian picture, over four hundred teenagers who begin experimenting with cigarettes become regular smokers. The reason for this trend is that nicotine, the major drug in cigarettes is highly addictive. Given that teenagers are usually experiencing changes of growth and development, they are particularly vulnerable to the addictive effects of nicotine. Moreover, the effects of nicotine have been shown to make smokers to be more receptive to illicit drugs such as cocaine and heroin. Studies on nicotine dependence point out that most of the crucial symptoms of nicotine addiction could manifest in teenagers after only a few weeks of occasional smoking. With early exposure and high risk of addiction, cigarette smoking among teenagers has been associated with negative effects on brain development hence quitting may lead to restoration of mental health (Mazibuko, 2014).
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Cigarette smoking as a gateway to illicit drugs
The article “E-cigarettes new smoking gateway for teenagers” discusses the progression of cigarette smoking from E-cigarettes as a gateway to other drugs. The authors argue that many teens start using E-cigarettes and after sometime, most of them progress to smoking the combustible cigarettes. Eventually, they end up experimenting with illicit drugs. In a different article, Leatherdale, 2006 takes a different approach and holds the idea that marijuana use leads to cigarette smoking. As such, he emphasizes the connection between marijuana and cigarette smoking. In his survey, 9% of the respondents reported to have used marijuana before embarking on cigarette smoking. On the other hand, only 5% of respondents of marijuana users reported to have never smoked cigarettes. Interestingly, 25% of respondents reported to use marijuana alongside cigarette smoking. In the Canadian context, this rate is higher than the national rates throughout all age categories.
Moreover, Leatherdale, 2006 establishes a connection between marijuana use and relapse to cigarette smoking among former smokers using the social learning/ the social cognitive theory. He points out the major factors at play in influencing behavioral change to include the mutual relationships among the environment, factors that are inherent in the individual, as well as the elements of the sought behavior. The similar aspects of smoking in marijuana and cigarettes drives marijuana users to cigarette smoking.
Lindsay & Rainey, 1997 assert that 82% of adult who are regular smokers began experimenting with cigarettes in their early teenage years. They point out that it becomes difficult for teenagers to quit smoking after starting. In explaining the trend, Lindsay & Rainey, 1997 use the Theory of Reasoned Action which suggests that behavior is a product of behavioral intentions. From this perspective, having a preconceived intention to smoke leads to cigarette smoking. Although they admit that behavioral intention does not always pave the way for a particular behavior, they assert that individuals act in line with their intentions. Thus, in forming the behavioral intention to cigarette smoking, two variables are involved; subjective norm and attitude.
An article titled Smoking out 'dirts' and 'hotshots’ 1998 looks at cigarette smoking from its psychological function. The authors assert that teenagers perceive smoking as a healthy way to get out their rebelliousness. Throughout the article, peer influence is depicted as the main push in inciting teenagers to smoke and later progress to illicit drugs. The social learning/ the social cognitive theory is used in analyzing the trends of smoking and progression to drugs. On the other hand, Sukel, 2015 discusses the history of the gateway drug theory and its development through the years. The author refers to the experiment where mice are exposed to nicotine and explains the causal association in progressing to illicit drugs. This article takes a medical approach to the issue and outlines the effects of addiction to a teenager. Torabi et al., 1993 presents statistics on usage of drugs among teenagers. From the statistics, the authors assert that teenagers who had experimented with illicit drugs were highly probable to have begun with cigarettes. The emphasis is that cigarettes serve as a gateway to illicit drugs among teenagers.
Measures towards prevention
Myers & Kelly, 2006 point out the connection between alcohol use and cigarette smoking. From their research, the two behaviors occur concurrently and peer influence plays a major role. Using the theory of reasoned action, the authors argue that the individual’s attitude towards the behavior and the common belief surrounding the particular behavior among peers leads to cigarette smoking. Therefore, they advocate for exceptional considerations in handling smoking cessation among teenagers such as motivation, peer influences, and nicotine dependence. A different research titled “Researchers find nicotine a gateway drug for cocaine”, 2011 looks at the association between cigarette smoking and use of cocaine. Through experiments on mice, they established that the brains of the mice got a stronger pleasure response to cocaine after being exposed to nicotine. Although the same case could not be determined for human beings, refraining from cigarette smoking could prevent future use of illicit drugs.
Rudatsikira et al., 2009, conducted a survey on smoking among teenagers and established the trend from introduction to regular smoking. Although the authors do not use a social theory in their discussion, it is apparent that peer influence takes a central role when a teenager is being introduced to smoking. Similarly, influence from television programs is discussed with a conclusion that “White adolescents who watch a lot of R-rated movies are nearly three times as likely to try smoking as are their peers who watch little of such fare”. Such teens may begin smoking without intending to ever use illicit drugs. However, as addiction sets in, the teenagers find themselves taking illicit drugs from the effects of addiction. The authors thus assert that positive influence could help prevent more teenagers from cigarette smoking and hence reduce the use of illicit drugs.
In conclusion, the discussion above presents facts and evidence from various studies and articles in regard to the gateway theory. At the beginning, this paper sought to prove the hypothesis that if teenagers smoke cigarettes, they are more likely to use illicit drugs. As outlined, cigarette smoking acts as the first stage along the way to use of drugs among teenagers. From most of the studies, it is evident that peer influence plays a major role in prompting teenagers to engage in cigarette smoking and eventual drug use. Thus, teenagers should refrain from experimenting with any form of cigarettes as such behavior puts them at an increased risk of using illicit drugs.
References
E-cigarettes new smoking gateway for teenagers: Study. Health Reference Center Academic. (2015).
Leatherdale, S. T. (2006). Marijuana use by tobacco smokers and nonsmokers: Who is smoking what? Canadian Medical Association Journal , 174(10), 1399-1399.
Lindsay, G. B., & Rainey, J. (1997). Psychosocial and Pharmacologic Explanations of Nicotine’s “Gateway Drug” Function. Journal of School Health , 67(4), 123-126.
Mazibuko, K. (2014). Quitting Smoking Improves Mental Health, Say Researchers. Health Reference Center Academic .
Myers, M. G., & Kelly, J. F. (2006). Cigarette smoking among adolescents with alcohol and other drug use problems. Alcohol Research & Health , 29, 221.
Researchers find nicotine a gateway drug for cocaine. (2011). Alcoholism & Drug Abuse Weekly, 23(45), 8. Retrieved June 18, 2017, from http://web.a.ebscohost.com/ehkc/detail/detail?sid=6c91fa35-3c84-44e8-89a7-e702d7c22970%40sessionmgr4007&vid=3&hid=4212&bdata=#AN=69749945&db=hxh
Rudatsikira, E., Muula, A. S., & Siziya, S. (2009). Current cigarette smoking among in-school American youth: results from the 2004 National Youth Tobacco Survey. International Journal for Equity in Health , 8(1), 10.
Seppa, N. (2009). Bad influence: TV, movies linked to adolescent smoking. Science News , 171(10), 149-149.
Smoking out 'dirts' and 'hotshots.' (Psychological study on smoking associated with a Wisconsin junior high school students). (1998). General OneFile , 133(24), 382.
Sukel, K. (2015). Sentinel at the gates of addiction. New Scientist, 225(3011), 28-29. Retrieved June 18, 2017, from http://web.b.ebscohost.com/ehkc/detail/detail?vid=12&sid=9a616793-baa1-45c2-9fa5-2e8286bd4838%40sessionmgr104&hid=128&bdata=#AN=101427319&db=sch
Torabi, M. R., Bailey, W. J., & Majd-Jabbari, M. (1993). Cigarette Smoking as a Predictor of Alcohol and Other Drug Use by Children and Adolescents: Evidence of the “Gateway Drug Effect”. Journal of School Health , 63(7), 302-306.
