Teenage Smoking: What You Can Do

Teenage smoking is on the decrease. While around 25% of teenagers across the USA smoke either regularly or occasionally, this number is going down steadily. In New York, the number of teenage smokers was cut by half between 2001 and 2008.

However, many teenagers still do start smoking. If you are the worried parent or sibling of one of the 25% that smoke, you may not care about the others who don't. Still, it is good news - even for your kid. If fewer of his or her friends are smoking, that is going to help when he or she decides to quit.

The vast majority of smokers start before they are 25 years old, and most start in their teenage years. Some of the reasons for this are clear. Teenagers love to experiment, and they want to do what adults do - although not necessarily the same things that their own parents do. They want to be themselves as adults, right now. In order to get the impression that this is happening, they like to do things that make them feel older, such as drinking, wearing makeup, and smoking.

It is a good idea to educate children about the risks of smoking but trying to talk to a teenager who has already started, about the health problems that they may develop in 20, 30 or 40 years' time, is usually pretty pointless. It is a rare adolescent who can think that far ahead.

Think back to when you were that age. Could you ever even imagine being 50 years old? How can they be expected to care about some disease that might happen to that 'old' person that they may one day become, if they don't die of something more exciting first?

Your kids may act adult in a lot of ways, but don't be fooled. They are only a few steps along the path from being those little children for whom time was divided into today, tomorrow, next week or forever. It is much better to focus on the disadvantages of smoking right now - and preferably, let them experience those for themselves. Show, don't tell.

Don't pretend not to notice that they are smoking. Secret smoking can lead to other problems. You can let them know that you and other family members would be happier and would worry less about them if they didn't smoke, while always accepting that right now, they smoke.

If you don't smoke yourselves, it is reasonable to ban smoking in the house for your own comfort, including in the teenager's own room. You can make them go in the backyard. This is what most adults visiting your house would probably do.

It may help to point out some of the negative effects that smoking could have on their lives right now. For example, if they enjoy any kind of sports, their performance is likely to decrease if they smoke regularly. It affects dental health too, increasing the number of cavities.

Even young smokers get sick more regularly than non-smokers. Constant colds and coughs are not very attractive to the opposite sex.

At the same time, keep in mind that they will probably quit sometime, and there is a good chance that they will do that before they develop any serious disease. More and more people are quitting every year. Any time they try to quit, be sure to give them your full support. This could involve accepting that they will be very hard to live with for a few weeks if they become more than usually irritable during this time.

Although it does have long term dangers, smoking is not the most immediately life-threatening thing that your kids could be doing. The best thing that you can do about teenage smoking is to make them aware of the disadvantages that it might give them right now, and help them if they want to quit.