Back in the 60s, it was considered cool among teens to smoke, before we were all aware of the terrible consequences of smoking. Billboards and magazine ads made that guy in the cowboy hat famous. If you’re still smoking, it’s twice as likely that your kids will take up the habit as if you are a non-smoker. As a parent, if you think that children smoking are uncommon, or that surely your kids aren’t smoking, think again. Kids want to feel that they are a member of the cooler crowd in their peer group. He smoked by the campfire and was even depicted on his horse with a cigarette. Sometimes, parents harp so much on the virtues of not smoking, the kids begin thinking you ‘protesteth too much’ and that it must be one of those forbidden pleasure of which you wish to deprive them.

Another famous brand emblazoned the pack with a camel with a desert backdrop. Even if you’ve never smoked, making it clear to your children that smoking is a ‘bad’ habit that you most certainly frown upon, don’t make the mistake of simply assuming that they are listening. The concept of the ‘forbidden pleasure’ is another major reason for children smoking. I never did get that. Did the cigarettes taste as bad as a camel smells? Or did the illustration mean to convey an exotic experience? If the more popular kids in school smoke, due to their own desire to be avant garde, other kids may equate this different behavior with increasing their own popularity. In any case, despite the increases in lung cancer, emphysema and a host of other health problems that ensue as a result of puffing on the tobacco, many kids today still consider smoking to be cool. This includes grade schoolers! As in back in the day, peer pressure is one of the major contributors to children smoking.

The problem of children smoking is still alive and well. In fact, kids are starting to smoke at an even younger age than ever. Here are some ideas on how to drive home the point that children smoking are a really bad idea.

1. Print some of the more graphic images and paste them on the frig. Do a Google image search on ‘lung cancer’ and ‘emphysema’ for some graphic displays that aren’t pretty. Kids visit the frig regularly, so this not quite subconscious messaging is going to make an impression.

2. Do a Google text search on ‘cigarette additives’. Print one of these lists out as well. This will pull up many results of pages which list the 500-1000 chemical additives contained in cigarettes. Give the kids a home assignment to research the effects of some of these. As they say, it’s enough to gag a maggot. Now that’s a tough assignment and an excellent argument against children smoking – or anyone for that matter. Let them know that the FDA has approved the addition of these substances and ask them why they think these are considered acceptable for consumption.

3. Let them continue to run with this exercise. This exercise won’t take long. Have them print out a few pages and highlight what they find most disturbing. Ask them to research medical or health sites to find out why smoking is bad for your health and include the variety of health hazards one can suffer as a result.

Lecturing and punishing is not the answer, if your child has already taken up the habit. This only serves to alienate them. Guide them through the above three steps, sans lecture, threats, anger, or punishment. Keep all the frig pics up during the entire quitting procedure. Insist that your child look them over before opening the frig. Be calm. All of these strategies may well induce them of the unattractive and dangerous consequences of children smoking. Sit down and have a chat. If you are a non-smoker, don’t take the ‘holier than thou’ approach. Offer to pay for the nicotine patches.

Go online and find quit smoking forums and support groups they can participate in as an aid to quit smoking. After just a few days, they can view and smell the gross results for themselves. If you smoke, you’re not setting a good example. In this scenario, you’ve got to walk the talk with them. Be sure they understand that’s the truth. Get an empty mayo jar, fill it about a third full of water and tell them every cigarette must be disposed of in this jar. Let them know you will quit if they do. Due to the fact that it’s probable you’ve smoked for many years, you’ll have the tougher time. There’s no reason to allow another generation of children smoking end up with severe health problems, a degradation of their quality of life and a reduced lifetime.