How To Help A Teen Stop Tobacco Use

Teenage tobacco use is on the increase across much of the western world. In particular tobacco use is increasing in the area of smokeless tobacco. It would appear that a huge number of young people is migrating from cigarette smoking to smokeless tobacco use particularly chewing tobacco. The reasons for this shift are three fold lead by the false belief amongst young people that smokeless tobacco is safer and healthier. These chewing tobacco pictures clearly dispel this mistaken view. The other reason is that chewing tobacco or snuff appears to be within reach price wise to many teens compared to tobacco cigarettes. Lastly, teens find smokeless tobacco easier to conceal from parents and school authorities than smoking cigarettes. In the midst of all this, the challenge to any parent or school authority is how to help a teen tobacco user realize the dangers of tobacco use. Helping a young person to stop smoking is not all that easy but can be done. First and foremost it is important to realize that many young people operate under a lot of peer pressure and hear-say information. This affects the decisions they make and ultimately the things that they do. When approaching a young person who is using tobacco, it is important to keep an open mind and be aware that youths generally despise antagonism. It is therefore important to open discussion on the topic fully clear on your intentions. There is no need to blame them for their situation. In fact there is need to let them know that you fully understand and do not blame them for what their involved in. At the end of the day what is important is to drive the point home in an acceptable manner that tobacco use is dangerous and indeed deadly in the long run. Having some statistical information at hand to qualify your points on the dangers of tobacco use will be in order. This helps feed teens with the correct information contrary to hear-say information at school or within their circle of friends. Talking to teens in groups is also useful if it helps them participate and feel confident to open up. In your discussions with teens always attempt to make it a dialogue instead of a monologue. A monologue is when you alone is pumping your thoughts and information across. It must always be a two way street that allows young people to also talk back clearly putting across their thoughts about tobacco use. This is how ice is broken and barriers removed. For all you know it is through this kind of set-up that you will realize that young people operate and make decisions based on dubious and certainly inaccurate information. Important points to raise in your discussion would be the dangers of tobacco use including the different diseases caused by smoking or chewing tobacco such as cancer. Also highlight how tobacco use is linked to other health issues such as causing high blood pressure and how addiction is very difficult to break. Try by all means to replace false information with correct and accurate information that will open their eyes to the reality of their newly acquired habit. Helping teens stop using tobacco can easily become your next passion by simply applying these tips repeatedly and building on them based on the feedback you will be getting as you are applying them.