Having permitted cigarettes (and vaping, although this article will focus only on cigarettes) to be available to our children is possibly one of the greatest tragedies of our time. Not only is smoking damaging our “babies”, but it also creates within them bad habits and beliefs. This ranges from a lack of self-respect to a complete disregard for the safety and rights of other people; those who must smell and inhale what smokers exhale. What makes matters worse is the fact that so many adults smoke. This makes it even more difficult to explain to teens why they should not smoke.
This does not leave caring parents defenseless. All you need to do is find a strategy that will help your teens to see the light. This starts with avoiding scare tactics as these seldom work and teens rarely care about the long-term consequences of smoking (e.g. brain damage, cancer, constant coughing, a shorter life and plenty of wrinkles). Instead, focus on the following two issues:
- Point out all the unpleasant effects of smoking they will experience now while they are teens.
- Implement a strategy that focuses not only on keeping them from smoking, but which will create a “wanting” not to smoke.
Consequences of smoking during adolescence
- Bad breath. Use the fact that it is unpleasant talking to or kissing someone whose breath smells, to make realize how their friends / date feels when your teens have a “bad smoky breath.”
- Less endurance when playing sport. (This is because smokers have smaller lung capacity and weaker hearts.) You can therefore point out that they may not be able to play the sport they like, may fail to keep up with friends or may fail to make the team.
- Poor coping skills and a decrease in their ability to deal with peer pressure. Many people who become reliant on nicotine to calm them or numb their stress, may, over time, feel they cannot cope without cigarettes and / or find it difficult to deal with even the tiniest problems. This is because their dependence on cigarettes can reduce their belief in themselves and their ability to deal with problems on their own, without cigarettes.
- Use the brand and number of cigarettes they smoke to show them how much money they’re wasting and what they could have bought if they had saved that money.
- There is a strong link between smoking and depression. Also, once depressed they may want to smoke even more. This can create a never-ending cycle.
- Very few people manage to kick the habit during their life once they get hooked on smoking, which means, especially for teens who crave to be “their own boss,” that they’ve given up / “lost” a part of their freedom because they’re now controlled by dried leaves.
Motivation not to smoke
- A strong self-image and self-esteem. Teens who feel good about themselves and have some dreams to live for are less inclined to do anything that can cause them or their future any harm.
- Teaching them to be considerate towards the needs of other people will either help them to stop smoking or make them more considerate when they smoke.
- Helping them to understand the impact of pollution, teaching them to care about nature and promoting the importance / benefits of a healthy environment can help them to adopt a healthier lifestyle.
- Support. Talk about it, help them to deal with the peer pressure, teach them coping skills, agree to save the money for something they really want or get them help. Caring enough and making sure they know you do, should be enough to make them seriously consider quitting.
- Set the example and quit if you are smoking.
- Let your teens set a date by which they will stop smoking and then do everything you can to enable them to quit on that day.