Nearly a quarter of high school students in the United States smoke cigarettes. But parents can take practical steps to keep their children smoke-free.
"The most important thing is to keep the lines of communication open—the more you talk to your children, the better chance you have of staying close when things get tough or when important issues like smoking arise," says Neil Izenberg, M.D., a pediatric and adolescent health specialist in Wilmington, Del., and author of How to Raise Nonsmoking Kids.
Most lifelong smokers start to smoke at about age 12. They take up smoking as a means to look cool, believing they can quit when they want to. "But relatively few people who become smokers in junior or senior high school succeed in quitting later in life," says Dr. Izenberg.
Here are specific steps you can take to keep your children from smoking.
-
If you smoke, quit. "Children look to their parents as an example, and children of smokers are more likely to smoke than children of nonsmokers," says Dr. Izenberg.
-
Start talking about the dangers of smoking when your children are ages 5 or 6. "If you wait until they're 11 or 12, when they're likely to be tempted to try cigarettes, their health attitudes are already pretty well established," says Dr. Izenberg.
-
Explain to your children how tobacco advertising manipulates people into believing smoking is cool, socially acceptable, and image-enhancing. When looking at a billboard, ask your children, "Do you really believe the girl is going to want to kiss the guy after he takes that cigarette out of his mouth?"
-
Remind them of the cost of smoking. "Point out to your children that youngsters who spend money on smoking could have bought CDs, makeup, new clothes, video games, or other things that matter to them," says Dr. Izenberg.
-
Pay attention to the friends your children spend time with. The chances they'll smoke are greater if they have close friends who smoke. "If your children's friends smoke, don't wait until your children start smoking to say something; bring up the subject first and help them deal with peer pressure," says Dr. Izenberg.
-
Get to know the parents of your children's friends. Are they smokers? Do they condone smoking? Are they concerned with raising nonsmoking children? Work with other parents to keep informed about your youngsters' activities. And get the children involved in activities that are not associated with smoking, such as organized sports, hiking, biking, or other athletic endeavors.
-
Know what you're talking about by becoming well informed about the dangers of smoking. "When talking to your children about smoking, it's essential to communicate facts," says Dr. Izenberg. "There's no need for embellishment, to say smoking is worse than it is. The truth is bad enough."
-
Arm your children with feelings of self-confidence and self-worth. "What does self-confidence have to do with not smoking? Everything," says Dr. Izenberg. "Children who feel belittled at home, or who are overly controlled, will seek to escape one way or another and often will take up smoking to rebel."
-
Tell teenagers about the negative effects of smoking that should matter most to them at their age—bad breath, yellow teeth, and reduced athletic abilities. "Teens often don't respond to warnings about the long-term health consequences because they believe they're immortal," says Dr. Izenberg.