Parent Resource Center

Youth Smoking Prevention
Preventing Youth Access to Tobacco: Parental Influence

One of the keys to preventing children from smoking is restricting their access to tobacco. As a parent, you can have more influence than you may think.

Teenagers and pre-teens who smoke get their cigarettes from a variety of sources. Many take them from a friend's, a parent's, or an older sibling's pack. Others purchase them illegally from a store or get a friend to buy them.11. PM USA Youth Smoking Prevention (2007). Teenage Attitudes and Behavior Study - 2006 Results. According to the 2006 Monitoring the Future national survey of youth, 58% of 8th graders and 80% of 10th graders said it would be “fairly easy” or “very easy” for them to get cigarettes if they wanted them.22. Johnston, L.D., O'Malley, P.M., Bachman, J.G., & Schulenberg, J.E. (2007). Monitoring the future national results on adolescent drug use: Overview of key findings, 2006. (NIH Publication No. 07-6202). Bethesda, MD: National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Some research suggests that simply issuing fines to retailers for selling tobacco to minors isn't a comprehensive enough approach toward solving the problem.33. 3. Rigotti, N.A. et al, (1997). The effect of enforcing tobacco - sales laws on adolescents' access to tobacco and smoking behavior. New England Journal of Medicine, 377(15), 1044-1051. Enforcement of laws should be combined with other aspects of a broad youth smoking prevention program.44. Lantz, P.M. et al, (2000). Investing in youth tobacco control: A review of smoking prevention and control strategies. Tobacco Control, 9, 47-63.

TIPS FOR PARENTS

As a parent, you play a critically important role in helping prevent your children from using tobacco. Here are some specific things you can do:

  • Talk with your children often and specifically about not smoking. Make your values and beliefs clear.
  • If you or another family member is a smoker, don't leave cigarette packs unattended around the house or in other places where it's easy for children to find them.
  • Children whose friends smoke are more likely to have tried cigarettes themselves.55. Abdelrahrnan, A.I. et al, (1998).The epidemiology of substance use among middle school students: The impact of school, familial, community and individual risk factors. Journal of Child & Adolescent Substance Abuse, 8(1), 55-75. If you notice that some of your child's friends are smoking, ask about what's going on. Listen carefully to what your child says, so that you can talk with them about ways to handle the reasons why they say they or their friends smoke. These might include peer pressure, weight loss, social acceptance or stress.
  • If you find that your child is getting cigarettes from a friend, consider talking to that friend's parents about the situation. You may be able to work together to solve the problem. This also shows your child that no parent wants his or her child to smoke.
  • Encourage your teenager to socialize at places that prohibit smoking, whether it's a teen club or a friend's house. Talk to your child about ways to resist peer pressure and to say no if offered a cigarette.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

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Text in this section from: Preventing kids' access to cigarettes (2006)

Free resources for Parents:

Download free publications from the Raising Kids Who Don't Smoke parent resource series.