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Saturday, November 30, 2002Teenagers smoke for some of the same reasons they always have: It looks cool, and they identify it with rebellion. And knowing the risks, as kids now do, may only enhance the appeal. But there's more to it than that. In addition to the old temptations to smoke, kids today have a constellation of reasons that are unique to their generation. "I see kids experiencing pressure to look like the successful people they see on TV, which for teenage girls, means the actresses on Friends, for example," says Michael Levine, a professor of psychology at Ohio's Kenyon College, who specializes in body image and eating disorders. The current fashions for young girls -- baby tees, belly-baring halter tops, spaghetti-strap tanks -- flaunt more of their bodies, which means more self-scrutiny and, inevitably, self-criticism sooner. Given these pressures, smoking may seem like a quick fix, a diet trick that girls are afraid to go without. The web version is an abbreviated version of the print article, which has abundant examples of one other key factor in teenage smoking without ever pointing to it as a factor - parental smoking. The print version tells the story of one father and daughter who shared a cigarette after an argument, to diffuse the tension. It worked, but the daughter hasn’t quit smoking. And in example after example of teenage smokers, the article mentions parenthetically that at least one of the parents smokes. Yet, it doesn’t address the influence of parental smoking on teenage smoking. The influence is significant: In one study, when parents who did not smoke advised their children (school ages of grades seven to 12) not to smoke, 69 percent of the children never began smoking. However, when parents did not verbalize disapproval, the percentage of children who never began smoking dropped to 53 percent. When parents who smoked advised their children not to smoke, 55 percent of the children never began smoking. But when the parents did not tell their children that they disapproved of smoking, the percentage of children who never began smoking dropped to 24 percent. Smoking parents are twice as likely to have children who also smoke. Children learn by example. They are far more influenced by what goes on at home than they are by ads they see on television or on billboards. Want to keep your kids tobacco free? Then don't smoke. posted by Sydney on 11/30/2002 07:57:00 AM 0 comments 0 Comments: |
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