Parent Talking Points with their Children about Tobacco

TALKING WITH YOUR YOUTH:

You maybe strongly against smoking, but your youth may not feel the same way.

TALKING IS IMPORTANT:

It's best to talk with your youth about smoking before smoking becomes an issue.

Talking with your youth gives you a chance to:

• Share your views and concerns about smoking.

• Let your youth know how important his/her health is to you.

• Let the lines of communication open up and give you a chance to keep them open.

The younger your youth is when you start to communicate with them, the greater your influence will be on your youth. It's never to late (or to early) to start talking with your youth about tobacco and its effects.

Adults smoke less today, but teens are smoking more. The average age of the teens starting to smoke is between 12 to 14. In Iowa, in the last 7 years for adults smoking has decreased by 39%. For youth in Iowa, high school smokers have slightly increased from 20% in 2002 to 22% in 2004. This is still considerably lower than the 33% of the high school teens that were smoking in 2000.

WHY DO YOUTH SMOKE?

Youth may start smoking for many reasons:

• To look or feel adult. Many youth smoke to establish their own identity or maybe to rebel.

• To fit in with friends or socially. If youth want to belong to a group, smoking may be a part of that group.

• Curiousity. Youth may wonder how they'll look if they smoke (i.e. grown up or attractive) or even how tobacco tastes.

• Media images. Youth are influenced by images of smokers in magazine ads, movies, and music videos. Smokers are shown as attractive, rebellious or fun loving with a lifestyle anyone would want.

• They think they can stop at any time. Even if they know smoking is addictive and dangerous to their health, youth don't think it they will become addicted.

• They like the effects. Nicotine is a strong drug. It can reduce appetite, relax nerves, relieve stress and boost energy. By the time a new smoker starts to to dislike smoking; quitting is hard.

Each day 4,000 teens smoke their first cigarette and another 2,000 become regular, daily smokers. Of those, about half will eventually die from a smoking related illness. Most people who do not begin smoking in their teens never start using tobacco.

GETTING READY

Know what you want to say:

• Learn about the effects of tobacco. Be well informed.

• Clarify your own point of view to your youth. If you don't smoke, think about the reasons you have to help your youth to not start smoking. If you do smoke, be prepared to talk about why you don't want you youth to start.

• Practice what you are going to say with your spouse or a friend. This can help you be clear about your standards about smoking.

• Consider how you feel about offering your youth incentives to not smoke. Make sure you decide what those incentives might be.

TALKING TIPS:

• Choose a good time to talk about tobacco. Pick a time where you're both relaxed and can talk without any interruptions.

• Say what you want to talk about and why. Don't make your youth guess what your agenda is about.

• Don't lecture. Ask what your youth thinks and feels about the topic - tobacco. Give your youth time to give an opinion; don't rush to fill silence with more of your own opinions.

• Listen. Be patient. Don't interrupt, judge or criticize. Youth are more likely to open up if they know you won't jump in right away with judgement.

• If your youth spends time with peers who smoke, resist the urge to criticize or blame his/her friends. Becareful not to say unkind things about his/her friends for smoking or you may lose their trust. It will only force your youth to defend them.

Trying to understand the pressures your youth faces can make talking easier.

SELLING SMOKING:

The tobacco industries spend over $11 billion a year to promote their products. Around $152 million of that a year is spent right here in Iowa to promote tobacco products. Help your youth view tobacco ads with a critcal eye.

• Discuss how tobacco ads try to appeal to young potential smokers.

• Anaylze tobacco ads with your youth as they come up. Focus on the cigarette and smokeless tobacco brands that are most popluar with the youth. Talk about how the ads show smokers as being independent and grown up with a fun, carefree lifestyle. Ask your youth if he or she believes or feels that tobacco can give you this.

• Be aware of the promotion that the tobacco industries have going on. Talk to your youth about how the tobacco industry sponsors concerts and sports events. Point out that when you wear items or clothing that have the tobacco industries logos on them, it gives the tobacco industry free advertising.

Make time to talk about smoking whenever the issue comes up; making it an ongoing conversation.

IF YOUR YOUTH DOESN'T SMOKE:

• Clearly state your standards and what you expect from your youth. Your youth should know what your opinion about tobacco is and why you feel that way.

• Put the topic of tobacco relative to healthy/unhealthy living and how to make healthy choices in general.

• Explain to the best of your ability how addiction works. Stress that the nictotine in tobacco is a highly addictive drug.

• If you are deciding to offer incentives,

• discuss in detail what those incentives are going to be.

• Point out to your youth the immediate drawbacks of using tobacco. These are more of a concern to them than the long-term health effects (that they don't see as a risk).

Smoking:

• Makes your hair, clothes, and breath smell.

• Stains your teeth and your fingernails.

• Makes your performance in your sports activities lower.

• Costs you a lot of money.

• Turns the people closest to you off like your family and friends, especially friends that could possibly be dates.

Many teen who smoke say they can quit any time they want. Most of those teen are still smoking 5 years later!

IF YOUR YOUTH SMOKES:

If you suspect that your youth is smoking, try to talk with them calmly. An open and honest dialogue without arguing will help you keep the relationship between you and your youth positive.

• Be direct about your concerns, without being critical . Tell them how their behavior is affecting you: "I care about you and I'm worried about your smoking because . . . ", and say why.

• Be clear about what you will allow in your home, for example will you allow smoking in any part of your house? How about outside of your house? In your vehicles? Around younger brother and sisters? Also, explain why these rules matter to you.

• Make sure that you let your youth know that the choice to smoke is their own. Stress with your youth your hope that they will think carefully about the negative consequences of their choice. Only your youth can decide to quit.

• Make sure to keep talking, even if your conversation haven't changed your youth's behavior. Please be careful not to nag. Your goal is to keep an open conversation so that change can be made. Nagging shuts down the conversation.