When I think of a smoker, the first person who comes to mind is James Dean. I don’t know why, but I was never able to lose that image of what a smoker should be.

Photo by Andrew Ferguson

Slick hair, combed back with a little, black pocket brush. A leather jacket, worn loose and unzipped, with the collar flipped up to cover the neck. Faded jeans, with a hole on the upper left thigh, and ripped fabric around the knees. One leg up against a brick wall. Squinted eyes gazing out into the unknown distance.

He holds a cigarette: Spark. Flame. Light. Inhale. Exhale. Relaxed. Cool.

Beautiful.

And yet there is something conflicting in the beauty of that image. The confidence. The ever-present “cool.” And yet, the smoke. Tar. Disease.

Dying Images

Today, we know cigarettes kill. For many of us, the image of the “king of cool” leaning up against a brick wall has been replaced with scary pictures of a man lying on a hospital bed. Supported by pillows. Hairless and bald. Plastic containers of fluid pumped through tubes. A bag. Vomit. Sick. Dying.

That image has deterred a lot of teens from ever starting the habit. In 1991, 70 percent of 9th through 12th graders had ever tried cigarettes versus 58 percent in 2003, according to the National Youth Risk Behavior Survey.

Teens recognize the “new” image. They realize that smoking is harmful: a major cause of stroke and the third-leading cause of death in the United States, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

By now, teens are fully aware that tobacco use is “the leading preventable cause of death in the United States, causing more than 440,000 deaths each year,” according to the National Center For Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. And that cigarettes and other forms of tobacco, such as cigars, pipe tobacco, and chewing tobacco, are as addictive as heroin and cocaine.

Still, some teens smoke.

Susie, 18, began smoking “on and off” when she was 11. Prompted by her older brother and other friends who smoked, the New Jersey teen took her first puff. She was hooked.

Although she has tried to quit several times, she continues to smoke because of “the addiction, and also [due to] stress from life.”

Susie knows smoking is detrimental to her health, and she regrets ever starting. She has a hard time running, and she coughs a lot. But it’s really hard to stop, she says, adding that she plans to try to quit again.

Anti-Tobacco Teens

A lot of teens, however, have gotten the message and are working to promote a healthy, non-smoking lifestyle through peer education about tobacco.

One of the nation’s leading anti-tobacco groups, New Jersey-based REBEL, which stands for Reaching Everyone By Exposing Lies, undertakes service projects, such as an annual beach cleanup, summits, smoke-free restaurant informational sessions, and other events to combat teen smoking.

“Through REBEL, teens have a voice,” says Dante, an active member. “Teens have the ability to make a difference, instead of sitting back and watching it all happen. We are not against smokers, but against the institutions that target smoking to teens. We want our voices heard.”

The group “raises awareness to impressionable teenagers [by] doing more than preaching the ’just say no’ slogan,” adds 17-year-old Christine, also a REBEL member.

Unlike James Dean, these teens are rebels with a cause: Don’t let your future go up in smoke.