|
|
|
 RAISING
TEENS WHO DON’T SMOKE
The earlier youth begin using tobacco, the more likely they will
continue use into adulthood. Ninety percent of smokers begin smoking by
the age of 19. In addition, adolescents between the ages of 12 and 17
who smoke daily are 15 times more likely to use illicit drugs than their
peers.
Teens who are addicted to tobacco have several common experiences. A
number of them tried their first cigarette in the sixth or seventh
grade. In addition, smokers often do not perform well at school. They do
not feel they are a part of school and are isolated from students who
are active in sports. Most feel they have little hope of going to
college or getting a good job after high school. They experience
pressure from home and school, and use tobacco as a form of relief. In
addition, teen smokers enjoy trying to hide their smoking or outwit
school administration.
The initiation of smoking is generally influenced by having a friend,
particularly a best friend, who smokes. Risk factors indicate that teens
that have close associations with peers who use or have favorable
attitudes toward tobacco use are more apt to use it themselves. However,
peers are not the only influence on teen tobacco use. Parental smoking
establishes nicotine use as normative behavior. Furthermore, mass media
presentations of smoking make tobacco use attractive and usually
downplays the negative health consequences.
However, parents and family members can promote a tobacco-free norm by
establishing a hard-line disapproval of tobacco use. Even parents who
smoke can express their regrets of becoming addicted to nicotine, which
is controlling their own smoking behavior. It is important to develop
clear policies of abstinence to include behavior expectations, a
supportive atmosphere, and natural consequences for use.
Communities can establish norms by restricting tobacco use in public
places and by making access to tobacco inconvenient for children and
youth. The community can offer opportunities, skill building, and reward
for pro-social involvement and community serve. Workplaces can adopt
nonsmoking policies since more than half of high school student hold
part-time jobs. The mall is an area which youth socialize, entertain
themselves, and pass time in an unsupervised setting. Smoke-free malls
promote a smoke-free norm in an adult environment and diminish the
opportunity for tobacco use. Laws prohibiting the sale of tobacco to
minors should be strictly enforced.
Tobacco Use Facts and Youth
- Each day in the US, approximately, 3,900 youths aged 12-17 try
their first cigarette.
- Sixteen percent of high school students have smoked a whole
cigarette before age 13.
- Smoking at an early age increases the risk of lung cancer. For
most smoking –related cancers the risk rises as the individual
continues to smoke.
- The younger people begin smoking cigarettes, the more likely
they are to become strongly addicted to nicotine. Young people who
try to quit suffer the same nicotine withdrawal symptoms as adults
who try to quit.
- Cigarette companies spent more than $15.2 billion in 2003 to
promote their products.
- Kids whose parents repeatedly talk to them about not smoking are
significantly less likely to smoke.
For additional information about youth and smoking please see your
health care provider or visit www.cdc.gov
and www.philipmorrisusa.com. |
