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According to KidsHealth (Nemours Foundation), the web's most visited site about children's health, the health risks of tobacco are well known, yet the rates of smoking and the use of chewing tobacco continue to grow. Many people are picking up these habits when they are young - in fact, 90% of all adult smokers started when they were kids. And each day, more than 4,400 kids become regular smokers.
So it's important to make sure your child understands the dangers that go along with using tobacco. Smoking is the leading cause of preventable deaths in the United States. It can cause cancer, heart disease, or lung disease. Chewing tobacco (smokeless or spit tobacco) can lead to nicotine addiction, oral cancer, gum disease, and an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, including heart attacks.
If you arm your child with information about the risks of smoking and chewing tobacco, and establish clear rules and your reasons for them, you can help prevent your child from picking up those unhealthy habits. If your child is already using tobacco, there are warning signs that can clue you in and constructive ways to help your child quit.
The Facts About Tobacco
One of the major problems with smoking and chewing tobacco has to do with the chemical nicotine. A person can get addicted to nicotine within days of a first encounter with it. In fact, the nicotine in tobacco can be as addictive as cocaine or heroine. Nicotine affects a person's mood as well as the heart, lungs, stomach, and nervous system.
And there are other health risks. Short-term effects of smoking include coughing and throat irritation. Over time, more serious conditions may develop, including increases in heart rate and blood pressure. Smoking also leads to bronchitis and emphysema.
Finally, numerous studies indicate that young smokers are more likely to experiment with marijuana, cocaine, heroin, or other illicit drugs.
Preventing Your Child From Picking Up the Habit
Kids tend to be drawn to smoking and chewing tobacco for any number of reasons - to look cool, act older, lose weight, win cool merchandise, seem tough, or feel independent. But you can combat those draws and keep your child from trying - and getting addicted to - tobacco.
If you establish a good foundation of communication with your child early, it will be much easier later on to work through tricky issues like tobacco use. Here are a few guidelines to keep in mind:
Signs That Your Child May Have Started Smoking
If you smell smoke on your child's clothing, try not to overreact. Ask your child about it first. It may mean your child has been hanging around with friends who smoke or that your child has simply tried a cigarette. Many kids do try a cigarette at one time or another, but don't go on to become regular smokers.
Some additional signs of tobacco use include:
What to Do if Your Child Already Smokes
Sometimes even the best foundation isn't enough to stop a child from experimenting with tobacco. Although it may be tempting to get angry, it might be more productive to focus on communicating with your child. Here are some tips that may help:
If You are a Smoker
Kids are quick to observe any contradiction between what their parents say and what they do. Despite what you might think, most kids say that the adult whom they most want to be like when they grow up is a parent.
On a Final Note... Smokers in the Canadian province of Ontario will be fined C$250 for lighting up in their cars in the presence of children, if a new law recently introduced is passed. Under the proposed ban, drivers or passengers found smoking in a car carrying children under the age of 16 would be fined, even if a window is open. The province of Nova Scotia, the Yukon territory and a handful of U.S. states have already banned smoking in cars with children. Like many other jurisdictions, Ontario bans smoking in the workplace and in public places such as restaurants and bars.
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