2. Teenage Smoking Facts
- Each day 3,000 children smoke their first cigarette
- At least 3 million teenagers are smokers
- Tobacco use primarily begins in early years, typically by age 16.
- 20% of American teens smoke.
- Of every 100,000 15 year old smokers, tobacco will prematurely kill at least
20,000 before the age of 70.
- Of the 3,000 teens who started smoking today, nearly 1,000 will eventually die
as a result of smoking.
3. Smoking
-Adolescent girls who smoke and take oral birth control pills greatly increase
their chances of having blood clots and strokes by smoking.
According to the Surgeon's General, teenagers who smoke were:
- Three times more likely to use alcohol
-Eight times more likely to smoke marijuana
-22 times more likely to use cocaine.
-A person who starts smoking at age 13 will have a more difficult time quitting,
will have more health-related problems, and will probably die earlier than a
person who begins smoking at age 21.
4. Side effects/more issues the teen
will face with teenage smoking.
-Kids who smoke experience changes in the lungs and reduced lung growth.
They also risk not achieving normal lung function as an adult.
-teenagers who smoke have many more significant health problems, including
cough and phlegm production, decreased physical fitness and unfavorable
lipid profile.
-Adolescents who have 2 parents that smoke are more than twice as likely as a
youth without smoking parents to become smokers.
-"A 2001 survey found that 69.4 percent of teenage smokers reported never
being asked for proof of age when buying cigarettes in a store. The same
survey found that 62.4 percent were allowed to buy cigarettes even when
the retailer was aware they were under the age of 18".
5. Why?
Peer pressure and stress can lead to a teenager
turning to smoking as an outlet. Studies have shown that
peer pressure is among several factors as to why
teeangers turn to illegal substances not only drugs but
alcohol as well. Especially when a teen becomes
overwhelmed, they look at their only way out of it is to
either "get high" off drugs or alcohol.
6. How to prevent teenage
smoking
Though teenagers are going to do what they please regardless of the parent,
there are actions that can be taken to aid in the prevention of teenage
smoking.
1. Talk to your child about the risk factors of smoking.
2. Appeal to your teen's vanity. Meaning, warn them of the physical damage s
smoking can lead to.
3. Tell your teen that smoking is not allowed. Your strong opinion has an impact
on your child's decision.
4. If your child is not smoking, applaud them for their good decisions and then
go into detail about the effects of it as well as asking them about the
company they keep and whether or not they smoke.
7. How to help a teen stop
smoking
The most current clinical practice guideline encourages clinicians to ask teens
about smoking behavior during office visits, and then using age appropriate
methods to help teens quit. Teenagers should:
- regularly screen adolescents and their parents to determine whether they
smoke and, if so, suggest interventions to stop.
-Use behavioral and counseling interventions.
-If the adolescent has become dependent on nicotine and expresses a desire to
quit smoking, consider prescriptions for bupropion or nicotine replacement
therapy.
