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Prevention
By Mayo Clinic staffThe best way to prevent tobacco dependence is to not smoke in the first place. The best way to prevent your children from smoking is to not smoke yourself. If you're a parent who smokes, the younger your children are when you quit, the less likely they are to become smokers themselves. Even if you don't smoke, here are some things you might try as a parent:
- Promote smoke-free environments. Support legislation to make all workplaces smoke-free. Encourage smoke-free public places, including restaurants or other places where your teen may work.
- Support legislation to increase taxes on tobacco products. Higher prices discourage teens from starting to smoke. Higher prices on tobacco products, coupled with smoke-free workplace laws, are the most effective public health policies to reduce smoking in adults and prevent young people from ever starting.
- Talk with your teenagers. Ask whether their friends smoke. Most teenagers smoke their first cigarette with a friend who already smokes.
- Learn what your children think about smoking. Ask them to read this article so that you can discuss it together.
- Help your children explore personal feelings. Use nonjudgmental questions and rehearse with them how they could handle tough situations regarding peer pressure and smoking.
- Note the social repercussions. Remind your teenager that smoking gives you bad breath and makes your hair and clothes smell.
- Work with your schools. Become active in community stop-smoking programs.
References
- Nicotine. NIDA for Teens. http://www.teens.drugabuse.gov/drnida/drnida_nic1.asp. Accessed Sept. 15, 2010.
- Questions about smoking, tobacco and health. American Cancer Society. http://www.cancer.org/Cancer/CancerCauses/TobaccoCancer/QuestionsaboutSmokingTobaccoandHealth/questions-about-smoking-tobacco-and-health-intro-and-background. Accessed Sept. 15, 2010.
- Rigotti NA, et al. Patterns of tobacco use and benefits of smoking cessation. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Sept. 15, 2010.
- Cigarettes and other tobacco products. NIDA. http://www.drugabuse.gov/infofacts/tobacco.html. Accessed Sept. 15, 2010.
- Renard SI, et al. Management of smoking cessation in adults. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Sept. 15, 2010.
- Sackey JA. Smoking cessation counseling strategies in primary care. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Sept. 15, 2010.
- Smoking and how to quit. The National Women's Health Information Center. http://www.womenshealth.gov/quit-smoking/parents/. Accessed Sept. 15, 2010.
- Leone FT, et al. Behavioral interventions in tobacco dependence. Primary Care Clinics in Office Practice. 2009;36:489.
- Hatsukami DK, et al. Tobacco addiction. The Lancet. 2008;371:2027.
- Parents who quit smoking when their kids are young may have a big influence on whether their offspring will quit smoking in young adulthood. The Society for the Study of Addiction. http://www.addictionjournal.org/viewpressrelease.asp?pr=26. Accessed Sept. 15, 2010.
- Nicotine dependence. In: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders DSM-IV-TR. 4th ed. Arlington, Va.: American Psychiatric Association; 2000. http://www.psychiatryonline.com. Accessed Sept. 15, 2010.
- Hurt RD (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Oct. 12, 2010.
- Hurt RD, et al. Treating Tobacco Dependence in a Medical Setting. CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians. 2009;59:314.
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