Preventing kids from smoking

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DESPITE serious government warnings against smoking, teenagers as young as 15 want to puff a cigarette either out of curiosity, influenced by peers and from household members.

Parents still have the biggest impact on their children’s decision whether to smoke especially in urban areas. It is common for parents in slum areas to instruct their children to buy cigarettes and requesting them to light it too.

The best way to prevent a youngster from taking up smoking is to have parents who don’t smoke. Better act now before it’s too late.

Be a role model

If you don’t smoke, that sets a strong example for your children. Research shows that children of parents who smoke are more likely to smoke themselves.

Make your house a smoke-free zone

If you are a smoker or have friends or relatives who smoke, avoid exposing your children to smoke. Young children who are exposed to secondhand smoke are at a higher risk of developing asthma, ear infections and cavities. Infants are at a higher risk of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome).

Keep trying to quit

If you are a smoker who’s tried to quit, you’re not alone. Seventy percent (70%) of smokers report wanting to quit, but only about five percent of those who try are successful in the long term. Try to quit for your health and for the health of your children.

Don’t smoke around your children

If you make your house a smoke-free zone, making your car a smoke-free zone will protect your passengers, including your children, from the harms of secondhand smoke.

Tell them about the health risks in smoking

This is for both adults and kids. Smoking will impact their ability to play sports successfully and may have potentially long-term negative effects on their good health and their appearance. In addition to the way it smells, smoking causes premature facial aging and stained teeth.

Know your children’s friends

Peer pressure is a powerful factor in children choosing to smoke, drink alcohol and take drugs. Find out if they have friends who smoke. Encourage them to be role models for their siblings and friends by making informed choices not to smoke and set an example with their peers that could set a trend.

Teach children that it is okay to go against the group when their health and safety is at risk. In fact, if they have taken a stand, based on an informed position, it is likely that their friends will respect them for it and follow suit.

Listen to your children

When parents create an atmosphere in their home that encourages discussion and debate about controversial topics that all teens confront and must learn to deal with, empowering your child with the facts will help them stay smoke-free. Start the dialogue about tobacco at an early age (5 and 6) and continue to provide them with age-appropriate information on smoking as they grow older.

If they start to smoke, encourage them to quit

By quitting, people can add years to their lives. Quitting is a life-saving decision that can impact the lives of everyone you love. It isn’t easy, but every quit attempt should be considered a success.


www.journal.com


One of my friend's eldest child start smoking at early age as 13. And now she doesn't know how to stop him because even herself don't know how to quit it. As a parents we must be a good example to our children. It's is important to teach our children about the danger of smoking. The bottom line is that our children need our help to avoid smoking or to quit if they have started. Parents really can make a difference!