Teens and Tobacco Use 1

Nearly all-first use of tobacco occurs before high school graduation. So if adolescents don’t start smoking by age 18, odds are they never will. For those who do experiment with cigarettes, new research shows teens can get hooked on nicotine more quickly than adults by extremely low levels of tobacco. Almost 90% of adult smokers became addicted to tobacco at or before the age of 18. Young people who start smoking at an earlier age are more likely to develop long-term nicotine addiction than people who start later in life.

Spit (chewing) tobacco is not a safe alternative to cigarettes. There are many terms used to describe spit tobacco, such as oral, smokeless, chewing, and snuff tobacco. The use of spit tobacco by any name can cause cancers of the mouth, pharynx, and esophagus; gum recession; and an increased risk for heart disease and stroke. Adolescents who use spit tobacco are more likely to become cigarette smokers than nonusers.

Unfortunately, newly enacted smoking bans in many states may have an unintended effect on the use of spit tobacco. As recommended by the CDC, many schools now prohibit students, staff, parents, and visitors from using tobacco on school premises, in school vehicles, and at school functions. In light of bans like this, tobacco companies are putting new marketing emphasis on their spit tobacco products. Several new spit tobacco products are being advertised as more discrete alternatives to cigarettes in places where smoking is not allowed.

Adolescent Smoking Statistics 2

Each day, nearly 6.000 adolescents under 18 years of age smoke their first cigarette; of these, nearly 2,000 will become regular smokers. That is almost 800,000 annually. Approximately one-third of these young smokers will eventually die of smoking-related illnesses.

Cigarette smoking during childhood and adolescence produces significant health problems among young people, including cough and phlegm production, an increase in the number and severity of respiratory illnesses, decreased physical fitness, an unfavorable lipid profile and potential retardation in the rate of lung growth and the level of maximum lung function. An estimated 440,000 Americans die each year from diseases caused by smoking. ·

• It is estimated that at least 4.5 million U.S. adolescents are cigarette smokers
• Approximately 90 percent of smokers begin smoking before the age of 21
• If current tobacco use patterns persist, an estimated 6.4 million children will die prematurely from a smoking-related disease
• According to a 2001 national survey of high school students, the overall prevalence of current cigarette use was 28 percent
• Nearly 20 percent of 12th graders, 12 percent of 10th graders and 5.5 percent of 8th graders smoke cigarettes daily
• Adolescents who smoke regularly can have just as hard a time quitting as long-time smokers
• Of adolescents who have smoked at least 100 cigarettes in their lifetime, most of them report that they would like to quit, but are not able to do so
• Cigarette advertisements tend to emphasize youthful vigor, sexual attraction and independence themes, which appeal to teenagers and young adults struggling with these issues

Tobacco use in adolescence is associated with a range of health-compromising behaviors, including being involved in fights, carrying weapons, engaging in high-risk sexual behavior and using alcohol and other drugs.

The Top Three Reasons That Teen Smoking Has Recently Dropped 3

• A 70% increase in the retail price of cigarettes between December 1997 and May 2001
• Increases in school-based efforts to prevent tobacco use
• Increases in youth exposure to both state and national mass media campaigns

What Can You Do To Help Your Teen To Not Start Using Tobacco?

• Talk to them about Tobacco use. Ask them if they know anybody at school that smokes
• Educate them on what the dangers are to smoking
• Find out what programs your teens school has to prevent teen smoking
• Become involved with your teens activities, friends, and interests
• Show your teen how much you love them and how awful it would be for them to start smoking
• Talk to them about people you know who smoke and how it is affecting them. How much they want to quit and wish they never started
• Tell them how much smoking costs and how cigarettes prices are constantly going up. What they could do with the money that people spend on cigarette smoking

How to help your teen quit using tobacco products 4

If your teen is smoking or chewing tobacco it will be up to him or her to quit. Try to avoid threats and ultimatums. Find out why your child is smoking. Your preteen or teen may want to be accepted by a peer group, or he or she might want your attention. Plus, adolescence can be stressful.

Show your interest in a non-threatening way. Ask a few questions and determine why your teen is smoking and what changes can be made in his or her life to help your child stop.

If you smoke, quit. If you did smoke and have already quit, talk to your child about your experience. Personalize the little problems around smoking and the big challenge of quitting. Teens and preteens often believe they can quit smoking whenever they want, but research shows many teens never do. Again, share those facts with them in a non-threatening way.

Be supportive. Both you and your teen need to prepare for the mood swings and crankiness that can come with nicotine withdrawal. Offer your teen the 5 Ds to get through the tough times:

• Delay: The craving will eventually go away.
• Deep breath: Take a few calming deep breaths.
• Drink water: It will flush out the chemicals.
• Do something else: Find a new habit.
• Discuss: Talk about your thoughts and feelings.

Make a list with your teen or preteen of the reasons why they want to quit. Refer back to this list when your teen is tempted.

Finally, reward your teen when he or she quits. Plan something special for you to do together. Helping your child quit smoking is one of the best parenting activities you could ever do.

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Footnotes: 1 American Cancer Society http://www.cancer.org/docroot/PED/content/PED_10_14_How_to_Fight
_Teen_Smoking.asp
2 American Lung Association - Adolescent Smoking Statistics http://www.lungusa.org/site/pp.asp?c=dvLUK9O0E&b=39868
3 CDC Center for Disease Control
4 CDC Center for Disease Control http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/tobacco_control_programs/campaings_events
/00_pdfs/brochure.pdf

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