Tobacco can be dried and smoked in cigarettes and cigars. It can also be chewed. It contains a drug called nicotine. Nicotine is absorbed by the lungs, and then it travels through a person’s blood.

Nicotine affects a person’s whole body. It makes a person’s heart beat faster. It makes their blood pressure go up. It changes the way a person breathes. It can make it harder for a person to taste and smell things. It can even wrinkle a person’s skin.

Nicotine can make a person feel pleasure, but only for a short time. People who smoke usually smoke more and more cigarettes every day so they can feel more pleasure. It is hard for them to stop smoking.

Nicotine is a drug that is addictive. When people do stop smoking or using tobacco, they go through uncomfortable things, but in the end they are better off because they have quit using the drug.

When nicotine is used for a long time, it can cause serious diseases like heart disease, cancer, strokes, and emphysema. Emphysema is a disease that makes people unable to breathe.

Tobacco causes more diseases and deaths than any other drug.

People who chew or dip tobacco can get diseases that smokers do not get. They can get cancer in their mouths and throats. Their gums can get infected. They can even lose their teeth.

A lot of people who smoke or chew tobacco start while they are teenagers.

If you know someone who you think is using tobacco, please tell a responsible adult. Anyone who uses tobacco or any other drug needs your help!

If your parent smokes, check out this link for ways you might be able to help:  http://kidshealth.org/kid/grow/drugs_alcohol/folks_smoking.html.

Pictures used with permission from http://www.drugfree.org/Portal/drug_guide/Tobacco.