Moriah Siens, Quit Coach, Service Delivery:
I am working with three different teenagers on a regular basis. Of the three, only one has nonsmoking parents. For the other two, smoking is second nature - just as "normal" as secondhand smoke. Statistically 75% of children whose parents smoke will pick up smoking themselves. This is not a new trend. I have spoken to adults in their 60's who started smoking at eight. Since their grandparent couldn't light up the cigarette, due to the oxygen tank they were on, the kids would do it for them.
Working with youth is quite different than working with adults. First and foremost, it is illegal to sell tobacco products to minors, so teens and tweens must find alternative means to obtaining their cigarettes. Second, peer pressure is felt much more strongly during adolescence than at any other time of life. Third, youth do not have the option of purchasing Nicotine Replacement Therapies (NRT).
Today kids are bumming cigs from their older legal friends, if not sneaking a couple from their parents' packs. For the average pack a day smoker, it's hard to notice only a few missing at a time. For one of my participants there is no need to hide or sneak cigarettes. Her mother buys them for her. Since most kids have to get their cigarettes from a source, it takes a lot of strength to ask that individual to stop giving or buying them cigarettes. If that individual is a parent, the task is even more difficult.
It is very typical for kids to experiment with various things when they are young. We all have stories of finding scissors and cutting our hair to unsalvageable lengths. For kids who are around cigarettes it seems very natural to pick up. Even the most careful parents can have a wayward teen try to take a puff off a cigarette their friend snuck from their parents. Between ages 11-17 the most influential person in your kids life, is his or her peers. It's not something that you can prevent. These influences are not always bad. In fact they can be helpful in teaching kids basic social skills. If your child's friends begin to smoke, it will be very difficult for your son or daughter to completely detach from that friend. Especially if they have been friends for any length of time. How teens identify themselves has everything to do with their friends.
When a teenager decides to quit smoking, whether by choice or by court order, they have some difficult decisions to make. They can either stay friends with those who still smoke and subject themselves to secondhand smoke and the temptation to start up again, or they can split off from those friends and branch out on their own. One of the teens I work with experienced the second scenario firstand. His friends were split down the middle. All were caught smoking and all were required to quit or at the least enroll in our Youth Support program. My participant and some of his friendschose to quit and branch off. The others remained smokerd and began to experiment with other substances.
While many of the state quit lines offer nicotine patches, lozenges, or gum for adults, no such benefit exists for kids. If they want to use any form of nicotine replacement therapy, they must have a prescription from their doctor. This possibly requires them to reveal they are smoking to their parents which can lead to harsh discipline and disappointment. Therefore, teens have to resort to either getting the required prescription or quit cold turkey. Quitting cold turkey as a teenager presents very unique challenges. Fortunately, some have the support of programs such as ours. One of my participants carries around cough drops so any time someone offers him a cigarette he can say his throat is sore and doesn't want to smoke. Another participant keeps smooth stones in his pocket so that he can fidget with them.
Working with youth provides new challenges and insight into the diversity of the smoking population. Even with the emphasis schools place on health risks of smoking, it seems unlikely that all kids will refrain from smoking.
The good news is that the more programs that become available like the Youth Support Program with Quit for Life, the more outlets teens can choose from.