The Problem of Adolescent Smoking

What can be done to prevent teenagers from picking up their first cigarette, lighting it, smoking it, and the chance of it becoming a habitual occurrence which could lead to an addiction?

Many parents, teachers, caregivers and others who care about the welfare of our youth have asked this question countless times.  There is no solution that serves as the best one, but there are solutions which can be combined to combat this epidemic of teenage smoking before it begins.  Researchers have chosen to take a stab at discovering and testing ways to prevent teenagers from smoking.  Research studies have focused on psychological smoking prevention programs, examining the idea of parental disapproval on adolescent smoking initiation, home smoking restrictions, and developing improved academic classes as factors which could possibly contribute to the prevention of teenage smoking.

Most people who start smoking cigarettes are under 18 years old.  Programs that prevent the onset of smoking during the school years can serve as an aid to whether or not youth will make the choice to begin.  Smoking prevention programs seek to promote student learning, which decreases the likelihood of cigarette smoking initiation and promotes the cessation of experimental smoking.  The programs should focus on social influences, social pressures, and refusal skill-development in addition to knowledge-based information which will assist  the adolescent when faced with the ultimate question from a peer, "want a cigarette?" Practicing skills for resisting peer pressure and tobacco advertisement is critical.  In other words, we need to teach adolescents how to say no, and mean it (Langois, 1999).

In the 21st century some may wonder can parents actually influence their adolescents actions when they are faced with peer pressure.  According to James Sargent , author of a research study published in Pediatrics, parents can and do.  Adolescents who perceived strong parental disapproval of their smoking were less than half as likely to have higher smoking index levels compared with those who did not perceive strong parental disapproval (Sargent, 2001).  Parents who disapprove of smoking, should voice their opinion to their kids, because it aids in their prevention.  Using an open dialogue, to where the parent and child can share their points of view on the topic proves to be advantageous. 

Parental influences are very important in prevention of adolescent smoking.  Parents socialize their children about many behaviors including smoking.  Parental rules about their child's smoking have been related to lower levels of adolescent smoking.  Another specific way that parents can influence their kids not to smoke is by home smoking restrictions according to a research article entitled Home smoking restrictions and adolescent smoking by Rae Jean Proescholdbell.  Home smoking policies may be useful in preventing adolescent smoking experimentation.  Studies suggested that when parents are permissive to home smoking policies, such as allowing people to smoke inside the house verses outside, it increases the chance that their children would be permissive to beginning to smoke.  Permissive home smoking policies were significantly correlated with permissive parent smoking attitudes, more parent current smoking, less parent former smoking and more adolescents trying smoking (Proescholdbell, 2000).