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Prevention

By Mayo Clinic staff

The best way to prevent tobacco dependence is to not smoke in the first place. The best way to prevent your children from smoking is to not smoke yourself. If you're a parent who smokes, the younger your children are when you quit, the less likely they are to become smokers themselves. Even if you don't smoke, here are some things you might try as a parent:

  • Promote smoke-free environments. Support legislation to make all workplaces smoke-free. Encourage smoke-free public places, including restaurants or other places where your teen may work.
  • Support legislation to increase taxes on tobacco products. Higher prices discourage teens from starting to smoke. Higher prices on tobacco products, coupled with smoke-free workplace laws, are the most effective public health policies to reduce smoking in adults and prevent young people from ever starting.
  • Talk with your teenagers. Ask whether their friends smoke. Most teenagers smoke their first cigarette with a friend who already smokes.
  • Learn what your children think about smoking. Ask them to read this article so that you can discuss it together.
  • Help your children explore personal feelings. Use nonjudgmental questions and rehearse with them how they could handle tough situations regarding peer pressure and smoking.
  • Note the social repercussions. Remind your teenager that smoking gives you bad breath and makes your hair and clothes smell.
  • Work with your schools. Become active in community stop-smoking programs.
Coping and support
References
  1. Nicotine. NIDA for Teens. http://www.teens.drugabuse.gov/drnida/drnida_nic1.asp. Accessed Oct. 20, 2008.
  2. Cigarette smoking. American Cancer Society. http://www.cancer.org/docroot/PED/content/PED_10_12X_Cigarette_Smoking.asp?sitearea=PED. Accessed Oct. 20, 2008.
  3. Benowitz NL. Clinical pharmacology of nicotine: Implications for understanding, preventing, and treating tobacco addiction. Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics. 2008;83(4):531-541.
  4. Smoking 101 fact sheet. American Lung Association. http://www.lungusa.org/site/pp.asp?c=dvLUK9O0E&b=39853. Accessed Oct. 20, 2008.
  5. Hatsukami DK, et al. Tobacco addiction. The Lancet. 2008;371:2027-2038.
  6. Burke MV, et al. Treatment of tobacco dependence. Mayo Clinic Proceedings. 2008;83(4):479-484.
  7. Nides M. Update on pharmacologic options for smoking cessation treatment. The American Journal of Medicine. 2008;121(4A):S20-S31.
  8. Executive summary. In: Treating tobacco use and dependence: 2008 update. Rockville, Md.: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/bv.fcgi?rid=hstat2.section.28189. Accessed Oct. 14, 2008.
  9. Guide to quitting smoking. American Cancer Society. http://www.cancer.org/docroot/PED/content/PED_10_13X_Guide_for_Quitting_Smoking.asp?sitearea=PED. Accessed Oct. 20, 2008.
  10. Le Foll B, et al. Treatment of tobacco dependence: Integrating recent progress into practice. Canadian Medical Association Journal. 2007;177(11):1373-1380.
  11. Benowitz NL. Neurobiology of nicotine addiction: Implications of smoking cessation treatment. The American Journal of Medicine. 2008;121(4A):S3-S10.
  12. Woodward K. Quit before kids reach third grade. Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. http://www.fhcrc.org/about/pubs/center_news/2003/may15/sart1.html?&printfriendly=yes. Accessed Oct. 22, 2008.
  13. Berrettini W. Nicotine addiction. The American Journal of Psychiatry. 2008;165(9):1089-1092.
  14. Clinical interventions for tobacco use and dependence. In: Treating tobacco use and dependence: 2008 update. Rockville, Md.: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/bv.fcgi?rid=hstat2.section.28251. Accessed Oct. 20, 2008.
  15. Smoking and cardiovascular disease risk. Washington, DC: American Heart Association.
  16. Kuehn BM. Personalized care may help smokers quit. Journal of the American Medical Association. 2007. 298(21): 2472. 
  17. Niaura R. Nonpharmocologic therapy for smoking cessation: Characteristics and efficacy of current approaches. The American Journal of Medicine. 2008;121(4A):S11-S19.
  18. Online guide to quitting: Managing cravings. Smokefree.gov. htttp://www.smokefree.gov/quit-smoking/managing_cravings.html. Accessed Oct. 20, 2008.
  19. Youth & tobacco. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/youth/information_sheets/yuthfax1.htm. Accessed Oct. 27, 2008.
  20. Hurt RD (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Nov. 5, 2008.

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Nov. 26, 2008

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