|
Smoking: Prevent Your Child from Taking the Bait!
There will be many things that children will be exposed to during their lifetime, that parents hope their children will not get involved in - smoking is one of them. Unfortunately, the world around us makes it very difficult for children to decide which things to pass up. Peer pressure doesn't make it any easier for children to decide what is right and what is wrong. Parents need to instill these morals in their children while they are still young. Parents are a child's first teachers - they hear what we say, repeat what we do, and hopefully they'll learn to choose right from wrong.
Here are just a few facts from The National Center for Tobacco-Free Kids*:
- Each day, more than 5,000 kids try their first cigarette; and each day more than 2,000 other kids under 18 years of age become new regular, daily smokers. That’s more than 750,000 new underage daily smokers each year.
- The addiction rate for smoking is higher than the addiction rates for marijuana, alcohol, or cocaine; and symptoms of serious nicotine addiction often occur only weeks or even just days after youth "experimentation" with smoking first begins.
- More than 90 percent of all adult smokers begin while in their teens, or earlier, and more than half become regular, daily smokers before they reach the age of 19.
- Thirty percent of all children are current smokers by the time they leave high school. While this proportion is somewhat less than the peak levels reached in 1997, more seniors smoke today than did ten years ago.
- Roughly one-third of all youth smokers will eventually die prematurely from smoking-caused disease.
- Smoking can also seriously harm kids while they are still young. Besides the immediate bad breath, irritated eyes and throat, and increased heartbeat and blood pressure, near-term harms from youth smoking include respiratory problems, reduced immune function, increased illness, tooth decay, gum disease, and pre-cancerous gene mutations.
According to the CDC*, tobacco use remains the leading preventable cause of death in the United States, causing more than 440,000 deaths each year and resulting in an annual cost of more than $75 billion in direct medical costs. Nationally, smoking results in more than 5.6 million years of potential life lost each year.
- Approximately 80% of adult smokers started smoking before the age of 18.
- Every day, nearly 5,000 young people under the age of 18 try their first cigarette.
- More than 6.4 million children living today will die prematurely because of a decision they will make as adolescents - the decision to smoke cigarettes.
Don't be fooled by "low tar" and "light" cigarettes - here's what the FTC* wants you to know:
- The tar and nicotine numbers used in advertising and on packaging are determined using a smoking machine - a smoking "robot" so to speak - that smokes every brand of cigarette exactly the same way.
- The numbers do not represent the amount of tar and nicotine a particular smoker may get: First, people don't smoke cigarettes the same way the machine does; second, no two people smoke the same way.
- Many lower tar cigarettes have filters with very small vent holes in the sides that allow air to dilute the smoke in each puff. It's easy for smokers to cover the holes unknowingly; that results in them getting more tar and nicotine.
- It's impossible to tell from the ratings the amount of tar and nicotine a smoker will get from any cigarette. Smokers of lower nicotine cigarettes tend to compensate for the lower nicotine by taking deeper and more frequent puffs than they would from a regular cigarette.
- The amount of tar and nicotine smokers actually get depends on how deep and how often they puff on the cigarette and whether they block the vent holes.
- Smoking "low tar" or "light" cigarettes does not eliminate the health risks of smoking. If you're concerned about the health risks of smoking, stop smoking.
- The amount of tar and nicotine you get from your cigarette depends on how you smoke your cigarette. Don't count on the numbers. There's no such thing as a safe smoke.
Kids! The CDC has some great reasons to pass up or give up smoking cigarettes:
Tobacco and Athletic Performance: Don’t get trapped. Nicotine in cigarettes, cigars, and spit tobacco is addictive.
Nicotine narrows your blood vessels and puts added strain on your heart. Smoking can wreck lungs and reduce oxygen available for muscles used during sports.
Smokers suffer shortness of breath (gasp!) almost 3 times more often than nonsmokers. Smokers run slower and can’t run as far, affecting overall athletic performance.
Cigars and spit tobacco are NOT safe alternatives.
Tobacco and Personal Appearance: Yuck! Tobacco smoke can make hair and clothes stink. Tobacco stains teeth and causes bad breath.
Short-term use of spit tobacco can cause cracked lips, white spots, sores, and bleeding in the mouth.
Surgery to remove oral cancers caused by tobacco use can lead to serious changes in the face. Sean Marcee, a high school star athlete who used spit tobacco, died of oral cancer when he was 19 years old.
So...Know the truth. Despite all the tobacco use on TV and in movies, music videos, billboards and magazines---most teens, adults, and athletes DON’T use tobacco.
Make friends, develop athletic skills, control weight, be independent, be cool...play sports! Don’t waste (burn) money on tobacco. Spend it on CD’s, clothes, computer games, and movies. Get involved! Make your team, school, and home tobacco-free; teach others; join community efforts to prevent tobacco use!
Parents! The CDC has some helpful information on how to help keep your kids tobacco-free!
Kids who use tobacco may:
- Cough and have asthma attacks more often and develop respiratory problems leading to more sick days, more doctor bills, and poorer athletic performance.
- Be more likely to use alcohol and other drugs such as cocaine and marijuana.
- Become addicted to tobacco and find it extremely hard to quit.
Spit tobacco and cigars are not safe alternatives to cigarettes; low-tar and additive-free cigarettes are not safe either. Tobacco use is the single most preventable cause of death in the United States causing heart disease, cancers, and strokes.
Take a Stand at Home-Early and Often:
- Despite the impact of movies, music, and TV, parents can be the GREATEST INFLUENCE in their kids’ lives. Talk directly to children about the risks of tobacco use; if friends or relatives died from tobacco-related illnesses, let your kids know.
- If you use tobacco, you can still make a difference. Your best move, of course, is to try to quit. Meanwhile, don’t use tobacco in your children’s presence, don’t offer it to them, and don’t leave it where they can easily get it.
- Start the dialog about tobacco use at age 5 or 6 and continue through their high school years. Many kids start using tobacco by age 11, and many are addicted by age 14.
- Know if your kids’ friends use tobacco. Talk about ways to refuse tobacco.
- Discuss with kids the false glamorization of tobacco on billboards, and other media, such as movies, TV, and magazines.
Make a Difference in Your Community!
- Vote with your pocketbook. Support businesses that don’t sell tobacco to kids. Frequent restaurants and other places that are tobacco-free.
- Be sure your schools and all school events (i.e., parties, sporting events, etc.) are tobacco-free.
- Partner with your local tobacco prevention programs. Call your local health department or your cancer, heart, or lung association to learn how you can get involved.
Coaches - You Can Influence Youth!
- Smoking slows lung growth, decreases lung function, and reduces the oxygen available for muscles used in sports.
- Smokers suffer from shortness of breath almost 3 times more often than nonsmokers.
- Nicotine is addictive in ways like heroin and cocaine.
- Young people who do not start using tobacco by age 18 will most likely never start.
- Young people who use tobacco may be more likely to use alcohol and other drugs such as cocaine and marijuana.
- Spit tobacco and cigars are NOT safe alternatives to cigarettes; low-tar and additive-free tobacco products are not safe either.
- Tobacco use is the single most preventable cause of death in the United States, causing heart and lung diseases, cancers, and strokes.
Take a Stand-Early and Often!
- Recognize your influence with young people. Don’t use tobacco, around players. Remind them of the importance of being tobacco-free.
- When talking to players, remember they relate more to messages about the immediate effects of tobacco use (such as poorer athletic performance) than to its long-term health threats.
- Adopt and enforce a tobacco-free policy for players, coaches, and referees.
- Send a copy of the tobacco-free policy home for parents to review.
- Make all practices, games, and competitions tobacco-free-on the field and sidelines and in the stands.
- Announce and display tobacco-free messages at games.
- Consider partnering with your local tobacco prevention programs. Voice your support for tobacco-free schools, sports, and other community events.
H.I.P Teens Wanted for $10,000 Scholarships! This offer has since ended.
TeenH.I.P. (Teens Helping Influence People), a program sponsored by Lorillard Tobacco Company's Youth Smoking Prevention Program, rewards teens that choose not to smoke, with scholarships. The search is on for well-rounded kids, ages 13-18, who exhibit leadership capabilities, are committed to extra-curricular activities, maintain good grades, and do not smoke.
The TeenH.I.P. Awards program is a corporate commitment to address the problem of underage smoking on a national scale with initiatives directed at three influence areas: peer pressure, parental influence, and retail access. The effort includes national advertising, grass roots communications, retail employee training, and signage to discourage youth access to tobacco products.
Applying for the third annual TeenH.I.P. Award has never been easier! This year, kids are encouraged to visit buttoutnow.com and fill out an application online. The entry deadline is midnight EST on November 15, 2002. Finalists will be contacted in December 2002 and recipiets will be revealed in February 2003. Official rules, entry criteria, and further information on other TeenH.I.P. programs are available on their website. Kids, be sure to check with your parents before you apply.
Below are some books relating to teens and smoking. Use Amazon.com's secure server to order:
- "Getting Through to Your Kids: Talking to Children About Sex, Drugs and Alcohol, Safety, Violence, Death, Smoking, Self-Esteem, and Other Critical issues": - Michael, Ph.D. Popkin, Robyn Freedman Spizman.
- "How to Raise Non-Smoking Kids": - Dr., Neil Izenberg, Robert P. Libbon.
- "How to Help Your Teenager Stop Smoking": - Michael Mannion.
- "Generation Risk: How to Protect Your Teenager from Smoking and Other Dangerous Behavior": - Corky Newton, John P. Zaremba.
- "Jimmie Boogie Learns About Smoking (3rd Edition)": - Tim Brenneman.
- "How To Help Your Kids Choose to Be Tobacco Free: A Guide for Parents of Children Ages 3 Through 19": - Robert Schwebel, George D. Comerci.
Visit the following Internet sites for more information relating to teens and smoking:
Click here to read other articles by MyParenTime.com.
Copyright © My ParenTime's Family Community.
*Copyright © National Center for Tobacco-Free Kids; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Federal Trade Commission. Any information obtained in this article should not be construed as medical or legal advice. The above information is presented for educational purposes only, and it is not a substitute for informed advice or training. Please do not copy or use this information to diagnose or treat any problems without consulting a qualified professional.
|
