Raising Your Children Smoke-Free

Almost 2 million adolescents in the United States become regular smokers each year, according to the American Lung Association. Parents can play a large part in preventing kids from starting.

What to Tell Your Children

Here are 10 tips to help you talk with your children about not smoking.

1. Talk about the hygiene-related effects of smoking. Mention stained teeth, bad breath and smelly hair and clothes.
2. If your children sing or play sports or a wind instrument, discuss how smoking can worsen their performance.
3. Mention the costs involved. Cigarettes are expensive, so explain to your kids that they will have less money to spend on items such as clothes or CDs.
4. The statistics on how many people die from smoking probably won't matter to an adolescent. Try to make it personal by talking about relatives or friends who died from smoking-related illnesses.
5. Build your kids' self-confidence, which can help them resist peer pressure.
6. Know who their friends are. Do they smoke? Talk about what your kids should do if they are offered a cigarette.
7. Discuss how smoking is falsely glamorized in the media.
8. Point your children toward role models who don't smoke.
9. Explain that chewing tobacco and cigars aren't safe alternatives to cigarettes.
10. Offer to help your kids quit if they already smoke.

If You're a Smoker

If you smoke, try to quit. In the meantime, don't smoke in front of your kids and don't leave cigarettes where they can find them.

If you smoke and would like to quit, call the American Lung Association at 1-800-LUNG-USA (1-800-586-4872) or visit its web site at www.lungusa.org.

Information reprinted from CIGNA HealthCare Well Being. 592381 © 2004 CIGNA Health Corporation