Eight Ways to Keep Your Teen From Smoking

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Smoking in teenagers is on the rise again. Although you may think your teen understands the dangers of smoking and will never smoke, peer pressure and that youthful feeling of invincibility can override good sense. Fortunately, there are ways to improve the chances that your child will remain a non-smoker.

Parents can do a lot to stop teens from smoking

1. Keep an open dialog with your teen. Listen to him. If you have a good relationship with your children, they’ll be more likely to adopt your values.
2. Make sure you have no smoking as a rule. Teens whose parents set the firmest limits on not smoking tend to smoke less.
3. Bribe your teen not to smoke. Make a deal with them that if they reach the age of eighteen without smoking, you’ll give them a certain amount of money (say $500 to $1000 depending on what you can afford). Then, bribe them again to get them to twenty-one. Money is a great motivator, and if they make it to these ages without smoking the odds are they will remain a non-smoker.
4. Tell them your views on smoking over and over. They’ll roll their eyes but who cares? Be obnoxious; let them know what you think about smoking every chance you get. Use your relatives, friends and neighbors who have had health issues as examples.
5. Point out how smelly smoking is and how expensive. It’s not just bad for your health; smoking makes your clothes, hair, fingers, breath, and home stink. And a smoking habit costs hundreds or thousands of dollars per year. It also limits your choices in romance and living situations, and is less and less acceptable almost everywhere.
6. Don’t smoke. Teen smoking is more common among teens whose parents smoke. If you do smoke, you don’t have to give up and share your cigarettes with your sixteen-year-old. If you haven’t yet quit, don’t smoke in front of your kids, keep your cigarettes out of sight, and talk openly about how hard it is to quit and how unhappy you are to be addicted.
7. Make your teen practice saying no to people who ask her to smoke. There will be peer pressure to smoke, and they have a better chance of resisting if they have a rehearsed answer ready. A simple, “No thanks, I don’t smoke," may work well. Have them rehearse this over and over through the years. The more practice they have, the more likely they’ll say no when the moment comes.
8. If your teen has already started smoking, avoid threats and ultimatums. Find out why they are smoking, and then discuss ways to help. Maybe they can stop hanging out with their friends who smoke and find new activities. Do whatever you need to do to help them stop while they are still young. The important thing is to stop smoking in its tracks.

Susan MacMillan - " We are in this thing to help each other get through this thing, whatever it is." - Kurt Vonnegut

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