How to prevent smoking in the youngest, in 6 keys

Tobacco consumption habits have become one of the major concerns in relation to public health, becoming a serious problem within society and despite the knowledge that is felt about its harmful effects.

However, today there are still a large number of smokers. Of all this population, adolescents have become one of the main sources of tobacco consumption, existing according to the World Health Organization (WHO) about 150 million teenage smokers.

But there are different ways to prevent smoking in young people, starting with knowing the causes that lead them to develop this habit so harmful to health.

• Related article: "6 keys to overcome a difficult childhood"

Main causes of smoking in young people

The reasons why the younger population is interested in smoking are diverse. Nevertheless, Knowing how to recognize them is of vital importance to be able to intervene in time and prevent smoking in young people and adolescents.

1. Social acceptance

Social acceptance is the main cause, and the best known, why an adolescent begins to be interested in tobacco

and consequently to want to try it. Starting to smoke has become a rite of integration through which young people feel that they are part of a group.

Also, curiosity, the desire to experiment or the mere fact of believing that it is fashionable or that it can turn them into popular people, they are also great incentives for young people to start to smoke.

2. Smoking in defiance of the rules

Pre-puberty and adolescence are characterized by a strong sense of rebellion, of provocation and of a great impulse of transgression. For all these young people, smoking is one of the fastest and most effective ways to face the rules and skip the regulations imposed by their parents, by society or the college.

3. Smoking to relieve stress

Influenced by the beliefs that exist around smoking and tobacco itself, many of the adolescents who decide to start smoking do so with the intention of alleviating symptoms of stress and anxiety, when they face high pressure situations such as exam periods or when they experience events with a high emotional charge.

However, what they do not know is the reaction that smoking will have in their body, since they will feel relaxed for a few moments but then the feeling of stress will be greater, so they will need to smoke more and more and more.

4. Parental influence

The entire volume of research carried out on tobacco consumption habits agrees that adolescents whose parents are smokers are at higher risk of becoming smokers and addicted to nicotine than other young people.

Therefore, those adults who smoke and with children must be aware of the influence that this habit has on their children, both directly through the consequences of tobacco smoke, and in the medium-long term causing an addiction in their children.

5. Media and advertising

Despite the fact that it is currently prohibited to carry out any type of campaign that promotes smoking in adolescents, the scenes, whether in cinema, television or the written press, in which any person or character lights a cigarette are more than common.

Just as the influence of parents on smoking has been shown, there is strong evidence that advertisements and the media have the ability to increase the desire to smoke in teenagers.

6. Lack of information

Although more and more campaigns are being carried out to prevent smoking, both in adolescents and in adults, myths and false beliefs that benefit smoking still linger in the collective mind.

All these erroneous but very popular beliefs manage that the negative consequences of tobacco are buried by the positive image that is still had of it.

Tips for preventing youth smoking

One of the most important factors in preventing smoking is that of prevent teenagers from starting to smoke, thus trying to avoid the first uses. The reason is that adolescents start smoking for the above reasons without knowing the consequences of it, and not being aware of the level of addiction that it can cause.

Some tips or means to prevent young people from smoking are as follows.

1. Provide information

As in any other type of awareness campaign, the first and possibly the most important step is to provide information to young people about smoking.

It is obvious that the entire population, regardless of age, is aware that smoking carries a large number of negative consequences for the health of the person. However, it seems that just knowing is not enough.

Bearing this in mind, it is of utmost importance to facilitate and provide the younger population with the real effects and sequelae of smoking, including the diseases that this can cause, the effects on physical and mental deterioration, and the percentages of deaths that exist due to causes related to the smoking.

2. Psychoeducate

Another measure that needs to be adopted is to provide information on the psychological effects of cigarette smoking.

Since the harmful effects of tobacco usually appear in the medium-long term, a young person may start smoking with the illusion of quitting before these effects appear. Therefore, it is essential to inform about the addictive potential of this, about how the mechanisms of addiction and on the short-term consequences of starting or smoking habitual.

3. Lead by example

As mentioned above, one of the reasons why young people start smoking is by pure imitation, either through parents, a family member, friends, etc.

Unfortunately, in many cases it is not possible to lead by example, since in a large number of occasions the adults around the younger person are already habitual consumers of tobacco.

In any case, it is vitally important that those who are responsible for intervene or interact with young people are able to set an example and do not smoke in front of the most youths.

4. Encourage reasoning

This measure consists of allowing the youngest to develop critical thinking about tobacco, leaving them, after providing them with objective information, to make their own judgments and assessments about smoking.

5. Teach to say "no"

One of the most common situations a teenager encounters is one in which a friend or acquaintance offers them a cigarette. The lack of emotional education and assertive techniques, together with the fear of being rejected, cause that in most cases the adolescent ends up accepting.

Therefore, providing skills that allow them to say “no” and reject tobacco use without feeling bad about it are essential to prevent young people from starting to smoke.

6. Promote physical activity

Promoting healthy lifestyles, which includes the adolescent following healthy lifestyles and practicing some kind of physical exercise It is a very useful tool to prevent the arrival of tobacco consumption habits in adolescents.

A young person motivated by sports and physical health is less susceptible to engaging in practices that are harmful to her health, which also includes smoking.