Math

Can Aim High School

12
Culminating Task
Mathematics of Data Managment (MDM4U)
Nadia Sheikhnuno

The purpose of this project is to find a significant problem of interest that requires the analysis of secondary data and to find out some background information/research related to the topic chosen.
The topic I have chosen to study is smoking in teenagers.
Teenage smoking is something that has been going on in the world for more than a while now. Many teens start smoking because they have friends or older siblings who smoke. Some teens look at smoking as a way to get through parties, dates, or other difficult social situations. Smoking gives them something to do with their hands and makes them feel older or more sophisticated. Some teens smoke because they feel they look too young and that smoking may make them appear more like an adult. Some teens - especially girls - think smoking is a way to keep their weight under control. A person might think that if she has cigarettes in her hands, she's a lot less likely to eat. Others believe that a cigarette helps them relax when they're stressed out because of schoolwork, dating problems, or family pressures.

      Teens often start smoking because one or both parents smoke or because another close relative is a smoker. They get the message that smoking is an acceptable habit. Others smoke because it isn't acceptable in their families. These teens may think that smoking shows that they are old enough to make their own decisions.
  * Each day, between 82,000 and 99,000 young people around the world start smoking. Almost 20 per cent of Canadian teens (aged 12-19) currently smoke (daily or occasionally).
  * In Canada, the smoking rates are generally higher among males than females.
  * On average, males smoke more cigarettes a day than females.
  * Youth smokers make more attempts to quit smoking than adult smokers.
What the Canadian Lung Association has to say:
  * 8 out of 10 teens who try smoking...