Tobacco Quiz

This is a quiz that will let you know how much you trully know about tobacco.

TOBACCO QUIZ

You just learned a lot about cigarettes and chew tobacco. Now see what you remember. Read each question or statement and pick the answer you think is correct.

1. Smoking is harmful only if you smoke for a long time --- 20 to 30 years or more.

   1. True
   2. False

2. If you smoke a pack a day for one year, it will cost you about:

   1. $50
   2. $700
   3. $1,500
   4. $3,000

3. Nicotine in tobacco is highly addictive.

   1. True
   2. False

4. Chew tobacco is a safe and non-addictive alternative to cigarettes.

   1. True
   2. False

5. Which of the following chemicals are found in cigarette smoke?

   1. Ammonia (used to clean toilets)
   2. Cyanide (used to kill rats)
   3. Formaldehyde (used to preserve dead frogs)
   4. All of the above

6. More than 80% of smokers start before they turn...

   1. 18 years old
   2. 21 years old
   3. 25 years old

7. Tobacco kills more people each year than which of the following causes of death?

   1. Illegal drugs
   2. Car crashes
   3. AIDS
   4. All of the above

8. Within two days of quitting smoking, your sense of taste and smell are greatly improved

   1. True
   2. False

THE ANSWERS

1. Smoking is harmful only if you smoke for a long time--- 20 to 30 years or more.

   • False

     The physical damage from smoking sets in almost immediately---even within a year after you start. Teen smokers cough and wheeze more. They produce more phlegm (yuck!). They have lungs that are damaged and actually smaller. They have weaker hearts. They perform worse in physical fitness tests and competitive sports. They also get sick and miss school more often.

2. If you smoke a pack a day for one year, it will cost you about...

   • (c) $700

     It will cost you about $700 in one year if you smoke a pack of cigarettes each day. Think of what you could do with all that dough: Play 2,800 video-arcade games; talk on the phone to your friend in another state for 126 hours and 22 minutes; buy 1,400 seedlings to plant three acres of oak, hickory, walnut, or ash trees. It′s boring, we know, but if you put $700 every year in a bank account earning 5 percent interest, you′d have $25,003.47 after 20 years. That′s some serious cash!

3. Nicotine in tobacco is highly addictive.

   • True

     Nicotine in cigarettes has been shown to be highly addictive. About two-thirds of young smokers say they want to quit smoking, and seven in 10 say they regret having started. Three out of four teens who are daily smokers say they keep smoking because it′s really hard to quit. When they do try to quit, they suffer the same withdrawal symptoms ("the crazies") as adults who try to quit. Nicotine addiction can fool you... Only 5 percent of teen smokers think they will definitely be smoking in 5 years, but close to 75 percent end up still smoking 7-9 years later.

4. Chew tobacco is a safe and non-addictive alternative to cigarettes.

   • False

     Chew tobacco is not a safe and non- addictive alternative to cigarettes. Using chew tobacco can cause cracked lips, bleeding gums and sores of the mouth that never heal. It can stain your teeth a yellowish-brown color and give you bad breath. One "dip" of smokeless tobacco can deliver as much nicotine as several cigarettes.

5. Which of the following chemicals are found in cigarette smoke?

   • (d) All of the above

     Scientists estimate that there are more than 4,000 known chemical compounds in cigarette smoke. More than 40 of these are known to cause cancer in people or animals. Chew tobacco, even though it is not smoked, contains as many cancer-causing chemicals as cigarettes.

6. More than 80% of smokers start before they turn:

   • (a) 18 years old

     More than 80% of adult smokers started before they turned 18, and by that time more than half of them were already smoking daily. Among high school seniors who use chew tobacco, about three in four had tried it by grade 9. Hardly anyone starts using tobacco as an adult. So if you make it through your teens tobacco- free, chances are great you′ll be tobacco-free for life.

7. Tobacco kills more people each year than which of the following causes of death?

   • (d) All of the above

     Each year smoking kills more people than AIDS, alcohol, drug abuse, car crashes, murders, suicides, and fires---combined! More than 400,000 people die from smoking each year--- one out of every five deaths in the U.S. That′s the same as three fully loaded jumbo jets crashing each day with no survivors!

8. Within two days of quitting smoking, your sense of taste and smell are greatly improved.

   • True

     Within two days of quitting smoking, your sense of taste and smell can be greatly improved. There are other immediate benefits of quitting. Your heart and lungs will begin to repair the damage done by smoking. You′ll begin to breathe easier. Your smoker′s cough will begin to disappear. And you′ll soon notice a boost in your energy.

Adapted from http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/osh/facts.htm