Up in Smoke

It's official. Joe Camel is officially "reassigned." The cool dromedary with the shades and hip wardrobe has been eliminated as the spokesman for Camel cigarettes. That is well and good but it would be hard to convince me that Joe is entirely responsible for the popularity of tween and teen smoking . Could it be peer pressure? Insecurity and wanting to look "cool"? Adults who smoke? The entertainment industry? An accepted and necessary addition to the teen experience as they perceive it? How about invincible, young and stupid? *********

Among persons aged 12-17 years, the first use of cigarettes per 1,000 potential news users has been rising continuously and has been steadily higher than for persons aged 18-25 years since the early 1970s. + At least 4.5 million adolescents (aged 12-17 years) in the United States smoke cigarettes. + Young people vastly underestimate the addictiveness of nicotine. Of daily smokers who think that they will not smoke in five years, nearly 75 percent are still smoking five to six years later. + Seventy percent of adolescent smokers wish they had never started smoking in the first place. http://www.parentingteens.about.com/

++++++++++++ Truth #1 anyone's teen can start smoking. Every day in the United States, more than 3,000 young people become regular smokers-that's more than one million new smokers a year. The pull to smoke is not just affecting someone else's kid. Your teen sees the glamorous advertising, has peers who smoke and is as vulnerable to becoming a smoker as much as any other teen.

******* * Truth #2: Nearly all first time smoking happens before high school graduation, according to the CDC. If your teen hasn't started smoking before he/she graduates, chances are he/she never will. That is good news. It means that you have the time to influence your teen and their choices. ******** Truth #3: Actively working on your teens self-esteem, self-confidence and resilience can prevent your teen from smoking. Often, teens cite 'being accepted' as a reason for starting to smoke, along with modeling someone they admire, to loose weight or to overcome stress. Help your teen develop friendships, shape a healthy body image and deal with stress without having to turn to tobacco use.

++++++++ Truth #4: Your teen needs to hear that smoking is bad for him/her from you. While your teen's friends may seem to be more important to your teen, you are his/her number one choice to learn about values. This is the time to make it count. Send a clear message to your teen that you consider smoking to be unhealthy.

********** Truth #5: If your teen smokes, he/she can't quit just because you've ask. According to American Cancer Society 'the best school health classes won't have much effect on the students who already smoke, unless those teens are also offered professional help to quit.' Teens do not realize they are addicted until it is too late. Among adolescents aged 10 - 18, about three-fourths of daily cigarette smokers report that they continue to use tobacco because it is really hard for them to quit. Your teen needs to team up with you and a doctor in order to kick this nasty habit. It is worth your time and money to help your teen get through this problem. ^^^^^^^^^^^^ Here's a questionnaire found on the net to figure out if a teen is smoking. It seems obvious, however, that a kid stuffing towels under the door and who smells like an old ashtray- is probably lighting up. My experience was that most kids with a lick of self preservation are not smoking at home. Still the same issues, just harder to catch in the act. ############# Here's the quiz ( or- Is My Kid Smoking ?- For Dummies)

Have you found lighters, matches or crushed tobacco in your teen'S room, backpack or pants pocket? Does your teen's room smell like stale smoke? Does your teen use a lot of air freshener in his/her room? (No, but I do!) Does your teen put a towel down to block the crack under their bedroom door? Does your child come home from school or a friend's house with his/her clothes and hair smelling like smoke? Do your teen's friends smoke? Has your teen lost weight? (other issues here too) Does your teen brush his/her teeth more often and at odd times of the day? (Is this a bad thing?) Is your teen evasive when you ask where they have been? (This one just goes with teen territory-not always signaling that they are smoking!) """"""""""""""""""""""""" Seriously, the statistics are sobering. *On average, someone who smokes a pack or more of cigarettes each day lives 7 years less than someone who never smoked. *The resting heart rates of young adult smokers are two to three beats per minute faster than nonsmokers. *Smoking at an early age increases the risk of lung cancer. For most smoking-related cancers, the risk rises as the individual continues to smoke. *Teenage smokers suffer from shortness of breath almost three times as often as teens who don't smoke. *Teenage smokers are more likely to have seen a doctor or other health professionals for an emotional or psychological complaint. * Teens who smoke are three times more likely than nonsmokers to use alcohol, eight times more likely to use marijuana, and 22 times more likely to use cocaine. Smoking is associated with a host of other risky behaviors, such as fighting and engaging in unprotected sex. >>>>>>>>>>> My Mother started smoking when she was 15 years old. She tried to quit all her life. She would wet the pack and throw it in the trash. Two hours later the smell of drying tobacco would waft through the house. There were the filters that supposedly captured the tar. There were the "light" versions. One time she tried hypnosis. Mother white knuckled it sometimes. Not fun at our house then. Mom crunched sour lemon candy until her enamel was gone. She chewed the gum and wore the patches. She walked around and around the block. No matter how hard my Mom tried, she could never break the addictive habit. And did she try! My beautiful and brave Mother had to use oxygen 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for 4 years. She died of emphysema at the age of 71., ten years ago today. How I mss her. <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< Anyone young and reading this- Smoking shortens your life. More importantly, smoking severely effects the quality of your life while you are living it. It ages your arteries, increases your risk of heart and lung disease, weakens your immune system and promotes cancer. It prematurely ages you on the inside and on the outside. When you become an adult, trust me on this one, you will want to live a long time. Additionally, you will want to be healthy while you are doing it. Don't start smoking, or if you are, stop. Get help if you need it. You ( and the family you will have someday) will never regret it. Shirley's daughter, Chrissie