About 3 million teenagers smoke, according to the website Smoking-Facts. These statistics are alarming to parents, because smoking is highly addictive and dangerous to a teen's health. Smoking-facts also notes that if your teen's friends smoke, he is 13 times more likely to follow along. Peer pressure has a strong influence over whether your teen picks up a cigarette for the first time.
Causes
According to the website Teen Drug Abuse, there are several reasons some teens choose to join their peers in smoking cigarettes. Smokers often congregate together in designated locations, so smoking can make a teen feel like part of a group. Cigarettes are also extremely habit forming because they contain nicotine. When a teen takes her first puff, she craves the next. This creates a cycle that can be hard to break.
Considerations
There are other ways in which peers can influence your teen to smoke. Some teens smoke as a way to cope with stress in their life, including difficult relationships at school and at home. When they see their friends smoking to deal with stress and relax, it can be a trigger for them to reach for a cigarette. Younger teenagers who cannot buy cigarettes might seek the recognition and attention of older teens by smoking.
Risks
Explain to your teen that cigarette smoking has risks. Some of the most common risks include cancer, lung disease, heart attack and stroke, according to the American Cancer Society. Quitting now can help him live longer and breathe easier in the long run, and fight off common illnesses such as flu, the common cold and pneumonia immediately.
Identification
If you have talked to your teenager about the dangers of smoking but suspect that she might be smoking behind your back, there are ways to identify a smoking habit. If her clothes smell of smoke or you find small burn holes in her clothing, she might be smoking. Hiding tobacco products and having homemade tobacco products such as rolling papers or bags of tobacco also can be signs.
Prevention/Solution
The best defense you have against your child lighting up a cigarette for the first time is to share with him the benefits of not smoking, including not having the constant craving to smoke, saving money on cigarettes and learning how to deal with stress without cigarettes. Nicotine patches, chewing gum treatment, nicotine tablets, nose sprays and inhalers can all can help your teen kick the habit.
