Cigarettes & Children: How to Fight Back
We try to teach our kids that cigarette smoking is bad for them, but peer pressure, advertisements, and pop culture fight our efforts at every turn. And if a parent smokes, it’s even harder to argue that the child shouldn’t do it! But there are ways you can reach your child, and this program will tell you how to do it. Meet the teachers who know how to stop them, the kids who are listening to them, and a parent who is learning how to modify her own behavior and get the message through to her child.
Guests:
Jen Chamberlain - Age 16, Teen smoker
Deborah Chamberlain - Jen’s Mother and smoker
Mary Ellen Bolcer - Head of Teen Smoke Stoppers, St. Vincent Medical Center, Bridgeport, CT
Cheryl Healton, DrPH - President and CEO, American Legacy Foundation; Assoc. Dean, Program Development, Columbia School of Public Health.
Tips/Hints:
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4.5 million American teens are smoking
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Parents can play an active role in prevention and cessation
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Keep lines of communication open about cigarettes – ask your children if their friends are smoking, are they smoking, what they think of smoking.
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Set ground rules about smoking. Never allow it at home. Make it clear you do not approve of smoking
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If your child is a smoker, contact the school district, area hospitals, American Lung Association and other online resources to see if there are cessation classes offered.
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If you, a parent/caregiver, are a smoker, remember to smoke outside, away from your children. Exposure to second hand smoke is a serious health risk for your child.
Resources:
American Legacy Foundation
http://www.americanlegacy.org/American Lung Association
http://www.lungusa.org/Teen Smoker Stoppers
(sponsored program in CT high schools )
http://www.swimacrossthesound.org/Environmental Protection Agency
http://www.epa.gov/American Cancer Society
http://www.cancer.org/National Cancer Institute
www.nci.nih.gov/
