poorer general health

the bottom line

In general, young people who smoke have poorer health than those who don't smoke.

explanation

In general, young people who smoke have poorer health than those who don't smoke. In a study of teenagers in Norway, researchers found that daily smokers, both boys and girls, had poorer general health than nonsmokers did. In addition to higher rates of respiratory symptoms (which you would expect), the smokers also had higher rates of headache, neck and shoulder pain, stomachache, nausea, nervousness, and sleep problems than the nonsmokers did.

A large survey of high school seniors in the U.S. has also found that general health is poorer in smokers. The smokers in this study were more than twice as likely as the nonsmokers to say that their overall health was poorer than average.

In a British study of 12- and 13-year-olds, those who smoked had higher rates of absence from school due to minor illnesses. One reason why smokers may be sick and miss school more often is that they are more susceptible to colds and other respiratory infections. For example, a study of a group of young U.S. soldiers showed that those who smoked were almost 50% more likely than the nonsmokers to catch colds during basic training.