"Have cigarettes |
stunted my growth?" |
| I'm 15 and am only just 5ft tall. I don't seem |
| to have grown very much in the last two years |
| and all my friends are much taller than me. |
| The thing is, I smoke, although it 's only a |
| couple of packets a week. Is it true that this |
| can stop you growing? |
| Brian |
| The biggest effect on your height is heredity. In other words, |
| if your parents are short then you're not going to be very tall |
| either. Or you may find that one of them was also a slow |
| grower and didn't have their major growth spurt until they |
| were about 16 or 17. |
| Smoking doesn't affect your height but it can kill you. |
| For every 25 teenagers who smoke regularly, 12 will die |
| prematurely from lung cancer or another smoking-related |
| illness. The more you smoke, the bigger the risk. And the |
| longer you smoke, the harder it is to give up. If you'd like |
| some free and confidential information about smoking, and |
| some practical advice on giving up (no lectures, I promise) |
| ring Quitline on freephone: 0800-002200 between 9.30am |
| and 5.30pm, seven days a week. All calls are free and they |
| really can help. |
Wat is het antwoord op de vraag van Brian?