Kids & Smoking

The health risks of tobacco are well known, yet the rates of smoking and the use of chewing tobacco continue to grow. Many people pick up these habits when they're young — in fact, 90% of all adult smokers started when they were children. And each day, more than 4,400 children become regular smokers.

So it's important to make sure children understand the dangers that go along with tobacco use. Smoking is the leading cause of preventable deaths in the United States. It can cause cancer, heart disease, and lung disease. Chewing tobacco (smokeless or spit tobacco) can lead to nicotine addiction, oral cancer, gum disease, and an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, including heart attacks.

Giving children information about the risks of smoking and chewing tobacco, and establishing clear rules and your reasons for them, can help protect them from these unhealthy habits.

You should also know the warning signs of tobacco use and constructive ways to help someone kick the habit.

The Facts About Tobacco—

One of the major problems with smoking and chewing tobacco has to do with the chemical nicotine. A person can get addicted to nicotine within days of a first encounter with it. In fact, the nicotine in tobacco can be as addictive as cocaine or heroine. Nicotine affects mood as well as the heart, lungs, stomach, and nervous system.

And there are other health risks. Short-term effects of smoking include coughing and throat irritation. Over time, more serious conditions may develop, including increases in heart rate and blood pressure, bronchitis, and emphysema.

Finally, numerous studies indicate that young smokers are more likely to experiment with marijuana, cocaine, heroin, or other illicit drugs.

More facts—

· Approximately 3,000 teenagers start smoking every day and one-third of them will die prematurely of a smoking related disease (American Cancer Society).
· Cigarette smoking and tobacco use are associated with many forms of cancer.
· High school students who smoke cigarettes are more likely to take risks such as ignoring seat belts, getting into physical fights, carrying weapons, and having sex at an earlier age.
· Most adult smokers started smoking before the age of 18.
· Nearly 3 million U.S. teenagers smoke.
· Smoking is the main cause of lung and heart disease.
· Smoking worsens existing medical problems, such as asthma, high blood pressure and diabetes.
· The earlier a person starts smoking, the greater the risk to his or her health and the harder it is to quit.
· Tobacco is considered to be a gateway drug@ which may lead to alcohol, marijuana, and other illegal drug use.
· Tobacco use continues to be the most common cause of preventable disease and death in the United States.

Kids at MOST risk for Tobacco use:

· are very influenced by advertisements that relate cigarette smoking to being thin and/or suffer from eating disorders
· deny the harmful effects of tobacco
· exhibit characteristics such as toughness and acting grown up
· have fewer coping skills and smoke to alleviate stress
· have moms and dads, siblings, or friends who smoke
· have poor academic performance, especially girls
· have poor self esteem and depression

What Moms and dads can do to prevent Tobacco use:

· Ask about tobacco use by friends; compliment kids who do not smoke.
· Ask whether tobacco is discussed in school.
· Discuss with your kids the false and misleading images used in advertising and movies, which portray smoking as glamorous, healthy, sexy, and mature.
· Do not allow smoking in your home and strictly enforce your No Smoking rule.
· Do not allow your kids to handle smoking materials.
· Do not allow your kids to play with candy cigarettes. They are symbols of real cigarettes, and young kids who use them may be more likely to smoke.
· Emphasize that nicotine is addictive.
· Emphasize the short-term negative effects such as bad breath, yellowed fingers, smelly clothes, shortness of breath, and decreased performance in sports.
· Help kids to say "No" to tobacco by role-playing situations in which tobacco is offered by peers.
· Make tobacco less readily available to kids and teens
· Support higher taxes on tobacco, licensing of vendors, and bans on unattended vending machines.
· Moms and dads are role models. If you smoke, quit. If you have not quit, do not smoke in front of your kids and tell them you regret that you started.
· Support school and community anti-smoking efforts and tell school officials you expect them to enforce no smoking policies.

If your child or teen has already begun to use tobacco, the following steps can help him or her to stop:

· Provide educational materials.
· If you smoke, agree to quit with your child and negotiate a quit date.
· If the child is abusing other drugs and/or alcohol or there are problems with mood or other disorders, evaluation by a child and adolescent psychiatrist or other mental health professional may be indicated.
· Help your youngster identify personally relevant reasons to quit.
· Enlist the child's pediatrician or family physician to help the child stop smoking.
· Assist his/her efforts to quit and express your desire to help.
· Advise him/her to stop. Be non-confrontational, supportive, and respectful.

Preventing Children From Picking Up the Habit—

Children might be drawn to smoking and chewing tobacco for any number of reasons — to look cool, act older, lose weight, win cool merchandise, seem tough, or feel independent. But moms and dads can combat those draws and keep children from trying — and getting addicted to — tobacco.

Establish a good foundation of communication with your children early on to make it easier to work through tricky issues like tobacco use. Some guidelines to keep in mind:

· Ask what children find appealing — or unappealing — about smoking. Be a patient listener.
· Discuss sensitive topics in a way that doesn't make children fear punishment or judgment.
· Discuss ways to respond to peer pressure to smoke. Your child may feel confident simply saying "no." But also offer alternative responses such as "It will make my clothes and breath smell bad" or "I hate the way it makes me look."
· Emphasize what children do right rather than wrong. Self-confidence is a child's best protection against peer pressure.
· Encourage children to get involved in activities that prohibit smoking, such as sports.
· Encourage children to walk away from friends who don't respect their reasons for not smoking.
· Establish firm rules that exclude smoking and chewing tobacco from your house and explain why: Smokers smell bad, look bad, and feel bad, and it's bad for everyone's health.
· Explain how much smoking governs the daily life of children who start doing it. How do they afford the cigarettes? How do they have money to pay for other things they want? How does it affect their friendships?
· It's important to keep talking to children about the dangers of tobacco use over the years. Even the youngest child can understand that smoking is bad for the body.
· Read, watch TV, and go to the movies with your children. Compare media images with what happens in reality.
· Show that you value your children' opinions and ideas.

If Your Child Smokes—

If you smell smoke on your child's clothing, try not to overreact. Ask about it first — maybe your child has been hanging around with friends who smoke or just tried one cigarette. Many children do try a cigarette at one time or another but don't go on to become regular smokers.

Additional signs of tobacco use include:

· bad breath
· coughing
· decreased athletic performance
· greater susceptibility to colds
· hoarseness
· shortness of breath
· stained teeth and clothing (also signs of chewing tobacco use)
· throat irritation

Sometimes even the best foundation isn't enough to stop children from experimenting with tobacco. It may be tempting to get angry, but it's more productive to focus on communicating with your child.

Here are some tips that may help:

· Encourage a meeting with your child's doctor, who can be supportive emotionally and may have treatment plans.
· Help your child develop a quitting plan and offer information and resources, and reinforce the decision to quit with praise.
· If you hear, "I can quit any time I want," ask your child to show you by quitting cold turkey for a week.
· Many times, children aren't able to appreciate how their current behaviors can affect their future health. So talk about the immediate downsides to smoking: less money to spend on other pursuits, shortness of breath, bad breath, yellow teeth, and smelly clothes.
· Resist lecturing or turning your advice into a sermon.
· Stick to the smoking rules you've set up. And don't let a child smoke at home to keep the peace.
· Stress the natural rewards that come with quitting: freedom from addiction, improved fitness, better athletic performance, and improved appearance.
· Try not to nag. Ultimately, quitting is your child's decision.
· Uncover what appeals to your child about smoking and talk about it honestly.

If You Smoke—

Children are quick to observe any contradiction between what their moms and dads say and what they do. Despite what you might think, most children say that the adult whom they most want to be like when they grow up is a parent.

If you're a smoker:

· First, admit to that you made a mistake by starting to smoke and that if you had it to do over again, you'd never start.
· Second, quit. It's not simple and it may take a few attempts and the extra help of a program or support group. But your children will be encouraged as they see you overcome your addiction to tobacco.



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