How to Keep Kids and Teens from Smoking and Vaping
It’s a burning question for parents and public health officials alike: How do you keep a new generation from starting to smoke?
We already know some strategies that have worked. Public health campaigns aimed at young people and consistent reinforcement from parents help keep them from striking up the dangerous habit.
但首先，有一个基本问题:为什么? Why is it so vital that we continue to discourage our youth from using tobacco?
要知道的四个事实
- 孩子们还在抽烟. 在美国的每一天.S., 约2,000 teenagers smoke their first cigarette, and over 300 of them become daily cigarette smokers.
- 吸烟很危险. 根据美国.S. 卫生局局长，5岁.6 million Americans younger than 18 today will die early from smoking-related diseases.
- 大多数吸烟者从年轻时就开始吸烟. If young people don’t start using tobacco by age 26, they almost certainly will never start.
- 不仅仅是香烟. Kids today are exposed to cigars, cigarillos, e-cigarettes (特许经销商 and juuling), hookah (water pipe) and smokeless tobacco (snuff, chew and dissolvable tobacco). Several of these forms of tobacco are “flavored,” increasing their appeal to young people.
是什么工作
Tobacco companies are targeting young people with ads, price discounts and enticing new products such as e-cigarettes designed to look like sleek gadgets. Many teens and young adults exposed to these efforts are highly impressionable and dealing with social pressures to “fit in” with peers.
Here are some approaches that have worked to counteract those forces:
- 提高卷烟价格. 大多数青少年对价格很敏感. Higher prices can deter would-be smokers.
- 限制访问. The 美国心脏协会 advocates adopting Tobacco 21 laws nationwide — setting the minimum legal sale age at 21 for every state.
- 限制烟草营销. Regulatory initiatives that ban youth-focused marketing efforts have helped curb smoking’s appeal to young people.
- 开展媒体宣传活动. 教育活动(如 真理倡议) have helped teens understand how tobacco companies exploit them. These campaigns are even more effective when supported by school-based and family-based programs.
- 提供戒烟计划. Affordable and accessible smoking cessation programs can help young smokers quit as well as parents and caregivers who want to model healthier behavior.
父母能做什么
作为家长, you’re a powerful influence — even if your teenager seems to disagree with everything you say. Here are some of the most effective ways you can steer your kids away from tobacco:
- 保持对话. 早点出发. Begin talking with your kids about smoking and 特许经销商 in kindergarten. Be honest and open to seeing things from your child’s point of view. 不要停止. Keep the conversation going as kids get older.
- 思考香烟之外的东西. 解释一下无烟烟草, 水烟和电子烟都有危险, 包括尼古丁成瘾.
- 让你的孩子做好面对同伴压力的准备. Discuss what they might say if a friend offers a cigarette or e-cigarette.
- 树立好榜样. 如果你吸烟或吸电子烟， 你能做的最好的事情就是辞职. At least don’t smoke around your children.
- 建立无烟家庭. Don’t allow family members or friends to smoke in your home or car. Make sure the places where your child spends a lot of time are tobacco-free.
If your child has started smoking or 特许经销商, try to learn why. This may help you talk with him or her more effectively. 而不是惩罚, offer understanding and help to resist the dangerous lure of tobacco use and addiction.
