Teenager smoking

Maryfrancis

Any hints/tips on getting 16 year old to stop smoking. Only just found out.
I am a reformed smoker and am shocked and appalled that he has started.
He would always have been very anti, watching his dad smoke 40 a day !
Said the usual about health, stench , money etc etc
Think I need some shock method.
Help!

yellowlabrador

don't finance it? Young people experiment, don't nag.

hfallada

Chances are she will grow out of it. Most of my friends that were smoking at 14/15, that quit by the end of sixth year.

How is able to afford nearly 10Eur for a packet of cigarettes? If she has no money, she wouldnt be able to smoke

Maryfrancis

He just got a little job for a few hours for the summer.
Told him he would have to quit it if he continued !

hfallada

Does he play sports. Maybe get the coach to lose it with him.

Also a children is fair more likely to smoke if their parents are smokers.

Hotale.com

My friend's parents took away his mattress, playstation and television until they were satisfied he stopped smoking.

It worked.

SpaceTime

Quick video on lung cancer and emphysema ?

Yogosan

Glue his fingers together.

Earthmoving

Maybe you should consider the fact that it isn't up to you.

Little Lion Woman

Not very helpful I know but I don't think there's much you can do here. Teenagers will experiment and rebel, if someone tells them they can't do something, it usually makes them more determined. As a reformed smoker, could anyone talked you out of smoking when you started at first?

As long as they are aware of the dangers, not much more can be done. Hopefully it's just a phase and it'll pass. But nagging or forbidding wont help. Just educate them on the pitfalls.

zoobizoo

Pay him... offer him X amount of money when he turns 21 if he doesn't smoke.

It worked for our family.

Orion

I'm going to move this to another forum - Teens and pre-teens - where you might get more helpful advice from other parents. Giving up smoking is more about quitting yourself rather than stopping your son.

Penny Dreadful

Earthmoving wrote: »

Maybe you should consider the fact that it isn't up to you.

At 16 it most certainly is up to the parents. I thought it was illegal to sell cigarettes to anyone under the age of 16? You could visit the shops in your area and make a complaint about them selling cigarettes to your child who is under age. I know this will only deal with a small part of the problem.
Smoking is a dreadful thing to start- there are only serious downsides to it. As a parent they are responsible for doing all that they can to ensure that their child stops.

Kimbot

Penny Dreadful wrote: »

At 16 it most certainly is up to the parents. I thought it was illegal to sell cigarettes to anyone under the age of 16? You could visit the shops in your area and make a complaint about them selling cigarettes to your child who is under age. I know this will only deal with a small part of the problem.
Smoking is a dreadful thing to start- there are only serious downsides to it. As a parent they are responsible for doing all that they can to ensure that their child stops.

I thought they upped it to 18 a few years ago.

OP, the old method of buying 40+ and making them smoke one after the other until they are sick of it springs to mind but thats not great for the health either.

Francie Barrett

Age limit for smoking is 18 these days.

Orion

Like that matters. If a teenager wants to smoke they'll smoke. Saying it's against the law won't matter a damn.

Shock treatment is the way I think. No money until he stops smoking. If he needs something he would normally buy himself buy it for him but don't give him cash. He'll still get some from friends etc but you can't be on his back the whole time so all you can really do its restrict the availability of cigarettes.

Earthmoving

Penny Dreadful wrote: »

At 16 it most certainly is up to the parents. I thought it was illegal to sell cigarettes to anyone under the age of 16? You could visit the shops in your area and make a complaint about them selling cigarettes to your child who is under age. I know this will only deal with a small part of the problem.
Smoking is a dreadful thing to start- there are only serious downsides to it. As a parent they are responsible for doing all that they can to ensure that their child stops.

Wrong. As a parent it is their responsibility to ensure their child is informed completely on the negative effects of smoking, NOT to dictate their decisions. Of course a small child should not smoke because they won't understand properly but a 16-year-old is practically an adult. As for the law, it is illegal to sell to anyone under 18 but technically the legal age to actually smoke is 16.

silverharp

when junior get to his teenager years the plan is to give him an extra allowance if he doesnt smoke. might be less reliable a method if they have already started

the_syco

Maryfrancis wrote: »

I am a reformed smoker and am shocked and appalled that he has started.
He would always have been very anti, watching his dad smoke 40 a day !
Said the usual about health, stench , money etc etc

Do either of you have any tobacco around the house, or do you know if nay of his friends parents smoke? A friends father used to smoke 20 a day, and wouldn't really notice two going missing all that easily.

Cabaal

Hard to tell your son to stop smoking when he see's dad smoking 40 a day to be honest,

In saying that either cut down money or remove a important item (console etc) unless he stops, would be better if dad stopped as part of this too as it would send the best message.

Perhaps have dad speak to him one on one about wanting to be around in later life and thats why he's given up and not wanting to have your son fall into such an addiction and risk to health/life.