I walked into CVS the other day, planning to buy body wash and mascara, when suddenly I was approached by a few sophomore boys asking me to buy them cigarettes. I thought to myself: Why would these kids even consider smoking and why would they ask a random girl to buy them a pack? Coming from someone who, as a child, would walk by adults smoking and yell out: “That’s terrible for you,” I was shocked and confused.
The frequent use of cigarettes has seemingly become more prevalent among  students. For some, smoking is just a fad they are trying out, while for others, it is a habit that they have picked up over time and are now unable to stop.
“I started smoking because of the environment I was around,” senior Mary* said. “I guess at first it was just to try it casually and socially. I continue to smoke because the more I did it for social reasons, the more I began to get addicted.”
According to nih.gov, nearly a quarter of high school students in the U.S. smoke cigarettes. Even more disturbing, about 30 percent of youth smokers will continue smoking and die early from a smoking-related disease.
“[Kids] think it’s cool, and if their friends are doing it, they do it too,” sophomore Jessie Prussick said. “They probably start off to try it and end up getting addicted.”
Some students are willing to admit that they smoke every day, although they are aware of the health consequences that come with it.
 “I would always tell myself I would not [smoke],” senior Max* said. “[But] after I tried it for the first time last summer, I started to do it every week.”
According to teendrugabuse.us, a website that provides help for parents with a teen struggling with drug abuse, the idea that teens are breaking the law or going against their parents and schools’ policies is an addiction within itself. Teens like to act as if they are someone special or dangerous.
Student assistance program specialist Caroline Lee agrees. She believes that teens are more likely to become addicted the earlier they start. Nicotine has been shown to be as addictive as cocaine and heroin.  Teens’ brains are still growing and this makes them even more susceptible to addiction.
“Smoking physically changes your brain to want more nicotine,” Lee said. “Students might start off with just one cigarette here and there and move their way up to a few packs a week. It’s highly addictive.”
Some students have realized the reality of the harmful effects that smoking causes and are trying to quit.
“I would love to be able to quit,” Mary said. “Ever since the smoking classes started at CHS, I’ve learned a lot and I’ve definitely reduced [the amount] of smoking I do.”
Although some students have the urge to quit, others are still drawn to the addictive properties of cigarettes.
“The teen years can be very stressful,” Lee said. “Cigarettes can become a quick way to temporarily ‘fix’ it. Some smoke for social reasons. Some smoke because they think it makes them look more mature. Some smoke out of boredom.”
Lee’s tobacco cessation support group, which meets at CHS on Thursdays during a different period each week, aims to help students learn about the risks of smoking and ultimately quit.
“When you are addicted to cigarettes [and want to quit], you have to be ready to change your routine,” Lee said.  “Don’t hang out in the same smoking spot every day, don’t have packs on you, chew on sunflower seeds to keep your mouth busy, get the support of your family and friends and find a new hobby to relieve stress. You also have a 50 percent better chance of success if you enroll in a peer support group.”
While smoking prevention remains in progress among students, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is taking on new measures to propose a new rule for labels on cigarette packages.
FDA and Health And Human Services officials recently announced plans to require cigarette packs and ads to have larger, more visible warnings and graphics about associated health risks.
“[The] FDA is proposing cigarette packages and advertisements which carry one of nine textual warnings and one of nine graphic images,” communications director of tobacco products Kathleen Quinn said.
According to the Michigan Local News website, the new warnings will comprise at least the top 50 percent of the front and rear panels of each cigarette package.
“The intent is to increase awareness, and ultimately change behavior, of those who smoke or want to begin,” Quinn said.  
The goal is to prevent kids from picking up the habit and urge adults to quit. In regards to a prevention plan, the new warnings contain images about addiction, strokes and lung and heart disease.
According to Quinn, The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, passed by Congress, is what triggered this proposal, therefore requiring the new rule to be enacted in June of 2011.  

*Students names have been changed at their request.