Up in Smoke

Take charge of your child’s life. Make a positive intervention if you find your child has become a habitual smoker

Smoking is injurious to health. This is the statutory warning marked on every cigarette packet available in the market.  Earlier, people chose to either ignore the warning or missed it completely for it was written in print so fine that it was unreadable. Since then the font size has increased and pictorial warnings have been added. But it has failed to cause significant difference in youngsters who remain hooked to this toxic habit. So what can you, as a parent, do about it?

Your responsibility

Youngsters take to smoking believing it is glamorous or use it as a tranquiliser against anxiety and depression. No matter what has led your child to take up cigarettes, the onus is on you, as responsible parents, to help your child get rid of this habit.

Here are some pointers as to how to help your child cope with this habit and overcome it.

• No Hostility – Be friendly and open with your child.  Keep the communication channels open and do not neglect your kid. Try and get to the bottom of the story. Who introduced them to this habit, how long they have been smoking, are they a casual or a habitual smoker, friends and peers who smoke with them, the number of cigarettes they smoke daily, where they get cigarettes from and so on.

If you yourself are a smoker then you will have to quit smoking to set an ideal example as there is a chance that they might have copied this habit from you in the first place.

Don’t punish or abuse them. Treat them like adults. Value their decisions such that they gain enough self-confidence to say no to cigarettes.

• Dangers of Smoking – Convince them that smoking harms the body. Inform your child calmly but persistently about the ill effects of smoking. Share data. Tell them that 14 million people in India suffer from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease caused by smoking. COPD is the fourth leading cause of death in the country.If possible show pictures of cancer patients or take your child for a friendly visit to your family doctor to highlight the dangerous outcomes of smoking.Tell your child that smoking is a costly affair and to sustain it they would constantly be in need of money. Make it clear that you will not be funding it and that you are aware that children who smoke often resort to stealing money to fund their addiction to smoking.

• Social Concerns – You may even be snubbed by others for smoking. Tell the kids that they  might lose good friends who dislike smokers. Their company may be avoided because of bad breath or the smell of smoke in their hair and clothes. Encourage your child to move around with friends or peers who dislike smokers.

• Dispel Lethargy – Inactivity and neglect are not an option. Children who do not follow creative pursuits and lead a depressed lifestyle often take to smoking. To remove depression, try to pep up the life of your child by encouraging them to pursue some hobby, sport, social service, or any meaningful voluntary activity.

Also give more time to your child so that they do not feel insecure and neglected at home. Engage with them longer after work, participate in the activities of their choice, play games, involve them in important household discussions, go out for family outings and dinner.

• Anti Smoking Measures – Take the help of these measures to keep your child off smoking. Quitting is a difficult business once you are addicted to nicotine. On top of that it is difficult to cope with the withdrawal symptoms that set in after quitting.

Special nicotine replacement gums, candies, and mint lozenge are available that replace the nicotine intake. Furthermore, anti-smoking medicines, smoking withdrawal tablets, and nicotine patches are available in chemist shops that help smokers stay away from cigarettes. Encourage your child to use these products.

According to Deepika Vats, a teenage therapist, “A little effort on the part of parents can do wonders when it comes to preventing children from smoking. Be proactive instead of adopting a reactive approach. Assist your child to leave this habit.” She adds, “The task is only half-done when your child leaves smoking. The other half involves preventing your child from relapsing into the old habit again.”

So keep a watchful eye and make sure that the child has fully understood the consequences of smoking on his mental and physical health.