Picture this: You are sorting through laundry and, in the pocket of a pair of jeans, you find a couple of cigarettes inside a crumpled cigarette pack. The pants belong to your 11-year-old daughter! Right away, you recall one day last month when you picked her up after basketball practice and smelled cigarette smoke when she got in the car. When you asked her about it, she said that some older kids were hanging around and smoking where she was waiting for you. Did she lie to you? Could your preteen daughter be smoking? The answers may be yes.

Each day, 4,400 young people smoke a cigarette for the first time¹ and by age 14, many are addicted.² Much attention is given to preventing kids from smoking but middle schoolers may not be getting the message. Cigarette smoking among high school students fell significantly from 2000 to 2002, but there was no decline among middle schoolers.³ Middle schoolers are still lighting up!

So, why do middle schoolers still choose to smoke? There may be two primary reasons: 1) tobacco-prevention messages and programs tend to be targeted to older students and may be missing the middle school crowd and 2) images of smoking in PG-rated movies are tempting.⁴ Children also are drawn to smoking to look cool, act older, lose weight, seem tough, or feel independent. They may not yet have figured out that smoking gives them bad breath, yellow teeth and fingernails, and smelly clothes and hair.

Young people may be unaware of the long-term dangers of smoking tobacco. Smoking can lead to diseases such as chronic bronchitis, heart disease, and stroke. It also can lead to deadly cancers and other diseases. In fact, one-third of youngsters who now smoke will die of a tobacco-related illness.⁵ Young people who smoke also can get caught up in other risky behavior, like using alcohol and drugs.

The good news is that a young person who does not start using tobacco by age 18 most likely will never start.⁶ Keeping your preteen smoke free can benefit him for a lifetime. These are some tips that may work in keeping your child smoke free:

• Talk with your child about the risks of tobacco use; be direct. If friends or family died from tobacco-related illnesses, let your kids know.
• If you use tobacco, don’t use tobacco when your children are around, don’t offer it to them, and don’t leave it where they easily can get it. Quitting smoking can have lasting health benefits for you and your family. For tips to help you quit, click here.
• Start the dialog about tobacco use at an early age, like age 5 or 6, and continue through their high school years. Many kids start using tobacco by age 11 and many are addicted by age 14. ⁷
• Talk about ways to keep away from tobacco. Know if your kids’ friends use tobacco.
• Discuss with kids the false glamour of tobacco use shown in billboard advertising and other media, such as movies, TV, and magazines.⁸

If you think your child may be addicted to cigarettes, do all you can to help her quit.

• Point out the benefits of quitting—better performance in sports and other activities, less chances of getting lung disease, and better odds of living a longer life.
• Get your child involved in some form of physical activity—swimming, gymnastics, biking, other after-school sports—where smoking is highly frowned upon and would deter her from smoking.
• Remind your child how much smoking costs! Wouldn’t she rather spend it on other things?
• If you use tobacco, make an agreement to try to quit with your child.

Nicotine is a very addictive drug. For some people, nicotine is as addictive as heroin or cocaine.9 You may find that quitting is harder for your child than you thought. Be very supportive of his efforts to quit, even if he has a hard time. Your support can help stop middle schoolers from lighting up.

Sources

¹ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Summary of findings from the 2001 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse: Volume II. Technical appendices and selected data tables. Rockville, Maryland: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2002; NHSDA Series H-18; DHHS publication no. (SMA)02-3759.

² CDC National Center For Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion: Tobacco Information & Prevention Source (TIPS), “You(th) & Tobacco”
http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/educational_materials/yuthfax1.htm, last referenced 5/20/04.

³ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Tobacco Use Among Middle and High School Students—United States, 2002.

⁴ Psycport.com. Middle-Schoolers Still Lighting Up, November 14, 2003, last referenced 5/10/04.

⁵ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Projected Smoking-Related Deaths Among Youth—United States, 1996, last referenced 5/25/04.

⁶ CDC National Center For Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion: Tobacco Information & Prevention Source (TIPS), “You(th) & Tobacco”, last referenced 5/20/04.

⁷ Ibid.

⁸ Ibid.

⁹ Ibid.

Additional Resources

Building Blocks for a Healthy Future

Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids: Tobacco and Kids Fact Sheets

CDC National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion: Tobacco Information & Prevention Source (TIPS), You Can Quit Smoking Consumer Guide

Tobacco Use Among Middle and High School Students