No Smoking

Through this campaign SDLP Youth have urged young people to “stub it out”.
On NO SMOKING DAY on 8th March 2006 SDLP youth distributed leaflets and put up posters.

Through this campaign we particularly urged young people to take advantage of this special opportunity.

Among young people, the short-term health consequences of smoking include respiratory and non-respiratory effects, addiction to nicotine, and the associated risk of other drug use. Long-term health consequences of youth smoking are reinforced by the fact that most young people who smoke regularly continue to smoke throughout adulthood.

The risks are very clear and we are all aware of them. Smoking reduces the rate of lung growth which is particularly of risk to young people who may still be growing and developing. It is also fact that cigarette smokers have a lower level of lung function than those persons who have never smoked.

Young smokers may think they are not at risk of heart disease or strokes, that these are risks for older people. However the early signs of these diseases can be found in adolescents who smoke. Smoking hurts young people's physical fitness in terms of both performance and endurance—even among young people trained in competitive running.

Smoking at an early age increases the risk of lung cancer. For most smoking-related cancers, the risk rises as the individual continues to smoke.

Young people may feel that smoking is recreational, but lets face it soon we will have a smoking ban spanning the whole island and recreational will be the last thing it is. So please take advantage of this opportunity and take the first step on the road to better health.