It is no secret that smoking causes a multitude of ailments, including stroke, heart disease and various cancers. Social elements such as bad breath, yellow teeth, and smelly hair and clothes are also factors. Despite all the warnings and hype surrounding smoking, the American Academy of Pediatrics claims that more than 2,000 people under 18 start smoking every single day in the United States. Prevention strategies are an important way to lower the number of smokers and keep young people smoke-free.
Don't Smoke
Perhaps the number one way to prevent young people from smoking is to lead by example and not smoke yourself. Children of smokers have double the chance of starting themselves as do children of non-smokers, according to the University of Washington News. It can be confusing to a child when a parent who wants to be respected, but smokes, tells the child not to start because it is a stupid thing to do.
Stricter Tobacco Advertising Laws
Adopting stricter laws regarding tobacco and minors may prevent more children from being exposed to smoking images and ads when they are young. On June 22, 2009 President Obama signed the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, which gives the Food and Drug Administration the power to regulate tobacco products. Included in the act is the requirement that tobacco companies disclose all ingredients in their products, to release all of their marketing research documents to the FDA, to get future products reviewed by the FDA before they go to market, and inspection of tobacco facilities once every two years.
Anti-Tobacco Ads
Displaying anti-tobacco ads during children's television shows or in children's publications may help to steer them away from starting in the first place. Focusing ads more on social issues may be more effective, as young people still feel cancer and other diseases are too far in the future to matter.
Early Education
It is never too early to begin educating children about smoking. Let them know that it is an addiction, that breathing smoke into your lungs is not natural, and that everyone who starts to smoke feels they can quit at any time, until one day they realize they are hooked. Be honest about how bad it makes you smell, and how much money it will cost over a lifetime. Being honest and open about smoking will help demystify the experience and prevent them from trying it at all.
References
- Mascot: Smoking Prevention and Control Strategies for Youth
- University of Washington News: Children Whose Parents Smoked are Twice as Likely to Begin Smoking Between the Ages of 13 and 21 as Offspring of Non-Smokers
- Teens Health: Smoking
- American Academy of Pediatrics: Children and Smoking
- GovTrack.US: Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act
