Why do Teens Find it Harder to Quit Smoking?

Studies conducted by the University of Michigan found that 14 year old girls are two times as likely as boys to try smoking. The concerns given by these girls were fears surrounding their weight.

A number of surveys have indicated that perhaps as much as 30% of teenage girls as well as women give controlling their weight as one of the main reasons for smoking.

States Dr. Margaret R. Rukstalis, a psychiatrist at the University of Pennsylvania, specializing in addictive behaviors, “The relationship between concerns about weight and smoking is dramatic.”

And those teenagers who do begin experimenting with cigarettes can become addicted to nicotine much more quickly than can adults. Young brains, scientists seem to believe, are more receptive biologically to nicotine. This makes it especially hard to stop smoking.

A report by the National Institute on Drug Abuse stated that some adolescents can become addicted within days of beginning smoking. And it also appears that adolescent girls get hooked on nicotine faster then do adolescent boys.

Not Fully Aware of the Health Risks

If you are still wondering why is it harder for teens to quit smoking, another reason may be that they are not quite fully aware of the health risks of cigarette smoking.

A study recently conducted by the Centers for Disease Control stated that teenagers who begin smoking not only significantly increase their risk of developing lung cancer, but can early on begin showing signs that will eventually lead to heart disease and stroke.

Estimates are that 80% of adults who are smokers today began smoking as adolescents.

Although the health consequences of smoking cigarettes are known to us as adults, many teens don’t seem to be fully aware of the long-term adverse health consequences of smoking.

It seems that kids are not fully able to grasp the concept of the damaging effects of tobacco. A challenge for us as parents is to help these kids begin to understand the long-term effects that smoking will have on them.

What Can We Do

Most experts agree that parents play the most significant role in their kid’s decision to not smoke or to quit smoking.

By making it clear to their children that they disapprove of smoking, parents can exert more influence on the behavior of their children than they might think.

It has been shown that teenagers who feel as though their parents would not approve of them smoking were less than half as likely to smoke as kids having parents they thought didn’t care. And those that do smoke are more likely to give up smoking.

It is a great idea to get to know and become familiar with the friends your teenager associates with. It is also a good idea to get to know their friends’ parents as well. Having your children’s friends over on a regular basis will help in that regard.

In addition, through the power of love for your kids, you can help them overcome the negative influences that certain peer groups may have over them. If your children senses that the love and support you have for them is more important than the acceptance by their peer group, they may very well choose your influence over that of their peers.

Why is it harder for teens to quit smoking? and many other discussion topics related to quitting smoking can be found at http://quitsmokingforgood.org/why_is_it_harder_for_teens_to_quit_smoking.html Permission is granted to reprint this article provided it is reprinted in its entirety. © 2007 http://www.quitsmokingforgood.org, All rights reserved.

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