SOME teenagers take up smoking during the holidays either because they become "rich" enough to afford a pack of cigarettes or they think they look "cool". Everyone knows that "smoking is bad for you", but do smokers really know what the health warnings mean to them? Smoking, the world's second leading cause of preventable death, kills 4.9 million people a year, the United Nations said on February 27. The world has about l.2 billion smokers and World Health Organization surveys show that about 20 per cent of them are children aged between 13 and 15 years old. On the same day, a global treaty  aimed at encouraging children not to smoke and help people kick the habit came into force. This is the first worldwide agreement on a public health issue. It will see strong warnings added to cigarette packets and a ban on all tobacco advertising. Young smokers may think little of the health effects of smoking. But smoking can stop them from making friends, as most non-smokers don't like being around smokers. "I feel sick when I see people of my age smoke. Smokers make themselves look less educated ," said Shi Qingyu, a Senior 3 student at Luanxian No 1 High School in Hebei Province. Once while on a bus, he asked a girl who was smoking next to him to put out her cigarette. For Wang Gezhu, a Senior l  girl from Wuxi Furen High School in Jiangsu Province,boys who smoke are less attractive. "Boys that smoke may think they are cool or impressive, but I think they look weird  compared to other ordinary students in my eyes. They only do what others won't risk doing," Wang said. Every one wants to impress others, but there are ways to show off other than smoking. On February 26, around 200 students from across the country gathered in Beijing to be awarded for their outstanding performance in the 2004 "Sunflower Cup". The programme included several contests in writing, calligraphy  , drawing and painting. It aimed to encourage students to take part in meaningful activities so that they could spend their free time developing healthy habits and hobbies. "Teenagers are energetic and quick to learn, both good and bad things. For the sake of their own health, teenagers should learn to say no to their first cigarette because life as a smoker is a life of addiction. You can't quit," said Wang Zhengqi, deputy  secretary-general   of the Chinese Association on Smoking and Health. From the passage. what does the author want to say?
Don't make friends with young smokers. Young smokers, drop off your cigarettes ! The young smoke because they have enough money. Meaningful activities are the only ways to prevent the young from smoking.