How To Talk to Your Teen About Smoking

Starting a conversation about not smoking really isn’t as hard as you may think. Your teen is expecting for you to say something – he/she knows that most parents do. That can take the edge off. Here is how to make these conversations as effective as possible, so your teen doesn’t ever start smoking.

1: Don’t think that one talk with your teen is going to work. This is a topic that needs to come up in conversations between you and your teen often to reinforce the don’t smoke message. Have mini-talks about the different reasons for not smoking.

2: Start early – even before middle school. Tailor the conversation to your child’s age and maturity level. Keep talking until you have grandchildren to talk to.

3: Use the media, newspapers or television, to help you bring up the subject. When you see a smoking advertisement, show your teen how it targets him/her. Ask your teen how he/she would fight against this kind of advertising.

4: Talk about smoking addiction. Ask your teen how he/she likes making his/her own choices. Tell him/her that while the first cigarette is their choice, smoking becomes addictive very quickly. Therefore, it will soon be the cigarettes making the choice for them.

5: Talk to your teen about the financial cost of smoking. Smoking is an expensive habit and it will only get more expensive as time goes on. Does your teen really want to spend all of their allowance on cigarettes? Smoking means less money for other fun activities.

6: Know the facts about smoking and your health. Bring them up when someone you know is suffering from them. This sounds harsh, but it is life. Don’t shield your teen from it. When Aunt Millie calls and her voice is raspy due to cigarette smoking, you should make it clear to your teen that smoking is the reason her voice sounds like that.

7: Make the consequences of smoking personal for your teen. Bring up what smoking can do to your teen’s ability to play sports, be in band or insert your teen’s activity here.

8: Discuss the fact that the majority of teens, and adults, do not smoke. It may seem to your teen that smoking is common if their friends smoke, but it isn’t.

9: Talk about the immediate side effects of smoking with your teen. Bad breath, yellow teeth and the stink on a smoker’s clothes are side effects that teens can relate to. These things are ‘gross’ and do not make them ‘look cool’.

10: Tell your teen that it is okay to say no to a friend who is offering him/her a cigarette. Role-play how this is done and go through a few scenarios.