Aimee Schiefelbein, Quit Coach, Service Delivery:

Let's face it, teens are a vulnerable population. They aren't yet mature enough to see the long term impact of some of their decisions, yet they are old enough to make them. I have talked with many long-time smokers who reflect back on their very first cigarette with regret saying, "I wish I knew then what I know now about smoking." Many participants say they started as a teenager to look cool or fit in to a social group. At the time they never thought they would end up 20 to sometimes 40 years later with health or financial problems as a result of trying one cigarette. I can relate. When I was a teenager I knew smoking wasn't good for me but I didn't have the maturity to understand just how powerful this addiction was and how hard it would be to quit. I lived for the moment and decided to try smoking in order to fit in with my friends. As far as I was concerned I was invincible and health problems let alone dying was reserved for "old people."

It is difficult (although not impossible!) to get teenagers to stop smoking once they start because of some of the things I just mentioned. I believe one of the best ways to help a teenager stop smoking is to prevent them from ever starting to begin with. As a teenager the most effective thing to get me to stop would have been to find out it was uncool or unacceptable within my peer group. Sure parents or teachers could have made an impact by being supportive and warning me of the dangers of smoking, but honestly it probably would have gone in one ear and out the other. At that age the most direct route to get me to stop smoking would have had to come from my peer group. I believe this is the case for many teenagers.

I recently read an article about a new teen smoking prevention program in England and Wales. The program is based in schools and it works by identifying and training students to meet the challenge of preventing teen smoking by influencing friends and classmates. It has already proven successful for some teens. While it's too soon to tell whether this can be a long-term solution, many schools elsewhere in the UK are pleased with the success and are interested in starting the program in their school.

I remain hopeful because this approach makes sense to me. Teens decide what to wear, what music is in, and these days what electronics are cool within their peer groups and classmates. Why wouldn't they be impacted by what their peer groups thought of smoking? It will be interesting to see the significance of this program long term.  If we can prevent teens from ever starting, imagine the impact years later to the health of our future adult population.