Is Your Teen's Attention Going Up In A Puff of Smoke?

There is a lot of talk these days, and some scientific evidence to suggest that smoking cigarettes is bad for you - and I have to agree. However, some research evidence suggests to a link between behavior and smoking, especially among teenagers.

Because I am by profession a social researcher I tend to place little trust in research findings as reported by the media. Generally speaking what you get from the media's reporting of research are decontextualized results - that is to say that very often there is little or no information on the size of the sample or the questions asked - this makes the reported figures questionable to someone like me. The claim that nicotine can affect your teenagers concentration may be a valid one but before you decide that your fourteen year old is spending time behind the bike sheds sending their attention up in a puff of smoke; try to get hold of the actual research report rather than the media's presentation of the findings.