Parent Resource Center

Even if you smoke, you can talk to your child about not smoking.

Like most adults who smoke, Roger started when he was a teenager: "Everybody I ran around with smoked. My parents smoked too." And like most parents who smoke, Roger finds it difficult to talk to his children about it.

You may feel guilty. You may think that because your child has told you again and again not to smoke, he would never try it. Or you might feel like a hypocrite telling him not to smoke when it's something he knows you do. You're not alone. Most parents who smoke feel the same way. But you're still the parent. You set the rules.

As the chart below shows, children whose parents smoke cigarettes are at much greater risk of smoking themselves.11. Philip Morris USA Youth Smoking Prevention (2007). Teenage Attitudes & Behavior Study – 2006 Results. But you can decrease your child's likelihood of smoking if you let him know clearly and repeatedly that you don't approve.22. Jackson, C., Henriksen, L. (1997). Do as I say: Parent smoking, antismoking socialization, and smoking onsetamong children. Addictive Behaviors. 22(1), 107-1145.,33. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.Keeping Youth Drug Free. Center for Substance Abuse Prevention. DHHS Publication No. (SMA)-3772. Rockville MD, printed 2002, revised 2004.

• Spell out the reasons why your child shouldn't smoke. Keep in mind that he is more likely to respond to the immediate effects—the cost, smelly clothes, yellow teeth and bad breath—rather than the long-term health risks associated with smoking.
• Set consequences for smoking, and be prepared to follow through. Let her know that smoking is simply unacceptable.
• Share your story. Talk about why you started to smoke. If you began smoking because your friends smoked, tell him. When you first started, how long did you think you would keep smoking? Has that changed? Talk about your addiction to cigarettes and the effect smoking has had on your health. If you have tried to quit, make sure he knows how difficult it is.
• Many teenage smokers take cigarettes from their parents’ packs. If you smoke, don’t keep your cigarettes where your children can easily get them.
• Keep in mind that you may be less attuned to the smell of smoke in the house or on your child’s clothing and watch closely for other signs.
• If you are considering quitting, remember that adolescent smokers are twice as likely to quit when their parents quit, too.44. Farkas, A.J., Distefan, J.M., Choi, W.S., Gilpin, E.A., & Pierce, J.P. (1999).Does parental smoking cessation discourage adolescent smoking? Preventive Medicine, 28, 213-218.
• Pay close attention to who’s using smokeless tobacco around your child. If someone in your home uses smokeless tobacco, your child is up to three times as likely to use it than a child who lives in a household without smokeless tobacco users. In fact, if one of your child’s best friends uses smokeless tobacco, your child is 11 times as likely to use smokeless tobacco products than if none of his friends do.55. Goebel, L. J. et al. (2000). Correlates of youth smokeless tobacco use. Nicotine and Tobacco Research. 2, 319-325.
• If you use any form of tobacco, don’t let that stop you from talking regularly to your children about not smoking and not using other tobacco products. Kids whose parents talk to them about not smoking are less likely to smoke, even if their parents smoke.66. Jackson, C., & Henriksen, L. (1997). Do as I say: Parent smoking, antismoking socialization, and smoking onset among children. Addictive Behaviors, 22 (1), 107-114.

Text in this section from: Peer pressure & smoking (2005) & Could your kid be smoking? (2005)

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