Teen Smoking and Tobacco Use

Parents often feel powerless against the tough issues teens face because they cannot control their teen's choices. While it is true that teens need to make their own choices, parents do have more influence than they think. Read through these five truths on teen smoking to become empowered about a tough choice your teen is facing everyday.

Is your teen smoking? Find out here by taking our simple teen smoking quiz.

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.

Teens who have parents that are involved and talk to them are less likely to start smoking. Weigh in here, have you talked to your teen about smoking?

If your teen has started smoking, he/she will need your help to quit, try these tips.

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, yes it is. Therefore it is more important than ever to be sure that your teen is not smoking. See what the NIDA has to say here.

Interesting facts about the cost of cigarettes and how it affects teen smoking. I'm up for raising the cost about 10 more dollars, but that is just me.

A few reasons teens start to smoke are listed here. While not all teens smoke because of these, they are the reasons teens give for starting.

Reasons teens continue to smoke even though they know the health risks. It is mostly due to addiction, plain and simple, preventing teen smoking is easy than getting a teen to quit.

The CDC offers many tips on how parents can prevent teen smoking. There is also some help in this article for parents of teens who smoke.

The National Youth Tobacco Survey conducted from September through October by the American Legacy Foundation, in a joint project with the CDC Foundation, estimates that about one in eight (12.8 percent) middle school students reported using some form of tobacco (cigarettes, smokeless, cigars, pipes, bidis, or kreteks) in the past month.

More than one-third (34.8 percent) of high school students reported using some form of tobacco in the past month.

Among young people, the short-term health consequences of teen smoking include respiratory and nonrespiratory effects, addiction to nicotine and the associated risk of other drug use. Long-term health consequences of teen smoking are reinforced by the fact that most teens who smoke regularly continue to smoke throughout adulthood.

More than 6,000 persons under the age of 18 years try their first cigarette each day. More than 3,000 persons under the age of 18 years become daily smokers every day. Read more about teen smoking here.

Concern about weight and the drive to be thin increase the risk a girl will become a daily smoker by the time she’s 18 or 19 years old, according to a new study sponsored by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI).

According to a University of Michigan study, most teens get their cigarettes from friends or other family members. About 65% of children in each grade said they have friends or relatives buy cigarettes for them. This is a very interesting teen smoking statistic. Read more here.

Here's one more reason to do your best to prevent your teen from smoking: researchers have found that 31% of teenagers who smoke go on to develop anxiety disorders in young adulthood.

An article from About.com's Smoking Cession site. The article offers facts and tips for parents of teens who want to prevent smoking.

What are bidi cigarettes and are they safer to smoke than traditional cigarettes? Find out why teens are attracted to smoking these types of cigarettes.

Q and A from About.com's Guide to Smoking Cessation.

Teens learn through modeling, smoking could be upsetting your marriage and how your teen views marriage. Another good reason to quit.

Nicotine has been shown to sharpen concentration among adults, but the opposite may be true for young smokers, according to researchers at Yale University. Read more here.

Study done at the university of West Virginia says that exercise can help teens quit smoking. Read the details here and tell use what you think.