Young people experience a wide range of illicit substances with relatively easy access. Fake id's, getting someone older to purchase it, buying it off the streets, there are so many ways for them to get their hands on illicit materials. One, which affects young people in a very permanent and poisonous way, is smoking. “At least 516 million packs of cigarettes per year are consumed by minors and at least half of those are illegally sold to minors” (Youth Access). Before one can delve into what the effects smoking has on the human body and how to prevent it, everyone needs to know what a cigarette contains. Just the smoke of a cigarette “contains a deadly mix of more than 7,000 chemicals; hundreds are toxic, and about 70 can cause cancer" (Quitting Smoking). The following are just a few chemicals found within a cigarette. Nicotine is a very powerful poison used in pesticide and is extremely addictive, more so than Heroin or Marijuana. Hydrogen Cyanide is an extremely lethal poison which is contained in suicide pills. It was used in gas chambers during World War II. Carbon Monoxide, also an additive in exhaust fumes from vehicles, reduces the oxygen carrying capability of the blood. There is also the obvious chemical, tar. It is used to make roads, but when used in cigarette, it causes stains on the smoker’s fingers, teeth, and lung tissue. There are also metals, such as: nickel, arsenic (used as ant poison), and cadmium (used in car batteries), found in cigarettes (Martin). All these harmful chemicals can have extremely destructive consequences on the human body. They can cause lung, nose, neck, and mouth cancer. They lower the body’s capability to carry oxygen thus resulting in frequent loss of breath, make teeth and hands turn yellow, causes heart disease, are incredibly addictive, makes breath and hair smell rancid; and if a woman is pregnant, it can have severe repercussions on the baby’s development. A few effects that can occur pre-birth are: the chemicals within a single cigarette can harm the unborn baby itself, smoking raises the levels of carbon monoxide in the mother’s bloodstream which gives the baby less oxygen, nicotine tightens the blood vessels, meaning the oxygen is passed over less effectively to the baby. Also a miscarriage or stillborn might result (Woolston). Young people are extremely susceptible to peer pressure. As such, many of them are pressured into trying smoking at least once. Many will find it repulsive but many will also find it addictive and it will be nearly impossible for them to stop. Studies show that 40% of young people (15-24) have tried smoking at least once. 25% of them are regular smokers; more girls than boys, probably because they are under greater pressure from their friends to try it. Thankfully, this number is falling due to the greater awareness of it consequences. Thirty to forty years ago, as much as 50% of youths smoked, but that was mainly due to the teen revolution and lower awareness of consequences of smoking. Young adults a