Note: This article has been corrected on 5/22/15. Gallardo has used cigars once, and was misquoted in the original version. All incorrect quotes have been removed.
“The first time I smoked,” says Carrie*, a sophomore at San Mateo High School, “was when I was in third grade. I was like eight or nine.”
According to the American Lung Association, while the the average initiation age for regular smokers is around twenty, the peak years of a person’s first experience with a cigarette comes at around seventh or eighth grade.
“One day, I just saw a man smoking. He drew out a few breaths, and then threw the cigarette down on the sidewalk. It was half-gone, but I picked it up and took a few puffs. I stopped when I saw my grandfather coming,” says Carrie. “The first time I smoked in sixth grade was with some high schoolers. They looked pretty chill, so I just drew in some smoke. Things just started from there.”
Aside from her early age, Carrie’s story about habitual smoking isn’t uncommon. A study by the USC School of Medicine finds that the use of nicotine by students is heavily influenced by their peers. Many students smoke in groups rather than by themselves.
Aragon senior William* started smoking in ninth grade, and he has since developed a routine habit of smoking.
“I smoke cigarettes around four to five times a day,” he says. “I mostly smoke with other social smokers. Some of them are from school, others are from college. I kind of just smoke whenever I want, wherever. It just happens with friends a lot more.”
Michael*, a senior at Aragon, also enjoys smoking with a group of friends. Unlike William, however, Michael uses a vape pen.
“I get a head rush when I take a hit,” says Michael, “ My head will feel heavy, or full, but my entire body just feels calm, relaxed, and focused. The whole thing is so much better when I’m vaping with my friends.”
Vaping is the act of smoking from an electronic cigarette or vape pen. The delivery is in the form of a vaporized liquid that carries nicotine, among other substances, straight into the lungs.
“I honestly don’t know that much about nicotine besides the fact that it’s addictive,” says Michael. “I mean, it’s harmful, but relative to cigarettes, it’s not that bad.”
In comparison, Carrie has a distaste for vaping. “I don’t screw with vape pens,” says Carrie. “That stuff’s disgusting. They don’t have any regulations about what get put into the liquid.”
According to the Journal of Nicotine and Tobacco Research, a third of electronic cigarette users cited the loose regulations on liquid that goes into the cartridge of the pens as a reason for switching back to tobacco.
William has tried to quit smoking cigarettes in the past.
“[Cigarettes] deliver a better calm, but they’re more expensive. To be honest, 90 percent of the reason why I’m trying to quit is because I just know it’ll all lead to health problems. I’m vaping a lot more now,” he says.
While William, Michael and Carrie do not plan on quitting their respective habits, Fabio Gallardo, a senior at Aragon, quit smoking after using cigars once.
Gallardo cites his grandfather and grandmother as main reasons why he does not use cigars anymore.
“It all boiled down to whether or not I wanted to have that lifestyle,” Gallardo says.
“My grandfather smoked two cigars a day, and that definitely led to his premature death. My grandmother started smoking when she was 14, and it escalated to a pack a day. Suddenly, she quit cold-turkey, the day my older brother was born. She comes from a long line of Cuban tobacco farmers, but she admits that tobacco isn’t good. I decided to stop smoking because of her,” he says.
Despite knowing the implications that come with smoking, Carrie states that she does so because it helps her calm down.
“I just feel everything very deeply and I get caught up. [Smoking] helps me unwind and slow me down enough to deal,” says Carrie. “It’s difficult, some of the stuff that has happened in my life. I’m sacrificing my body, just so I can deal.”
However, Gallardo has a differing opinion.
“The strongest, best tobacco in the world,” says Gallardo, “will never be worth forming an addiction over.”
*Names have been changed to protect the privacy of the students
