A recent Center for Disease Control (CDC) study found that more than 40 percent of teens who smoke use candy-flavored cigars and cigarettes.
The report, published in the Journal of Adolescent Health, is the first to measure the percent of youth smoking the products.
The study also found that 60 percent of teens who smoked flavored cigars didn’t plan on quitting.
1The culture and industry of smoking seem to have their own peculiar cycles.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says cigarette smoking is responsible for nearly one out of every five deaths in the U.S., including the more than 10% as the result of secondhand smoke exposure.
Between 2000 and 2004, cigarette smoking cost the U.S. more than $193 billion in health care expenses and lost productivity.
2. As we look at these statistics what can we do as parents and as peer educators.
Our Group of Hispanic Tobacco Prevention Network teens are doing just the opposite. They are among the few who refuse to give in to large companies distributing other tobacco products to youth.
Another is New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who recently signed a bill banning the sale of tobacco products to anyone under age 21. The legislation makes New York the first large city or state in the country to prohibit sales to young adults.
2 Although we don’t see this as a quick solution to stop teens or young adults from becoming smokers (to replace the ones that die off), we hope that it will serve as a stepping stone to making parents and teens more aware of the dangers of tobacco abuse.
We need more parents to get involved by taking an active stance against teen smoking. Participate in local and school-sponsored anti-smoking campaigns. Support efforts to make public places smoke-free and increase taxes on tobacco products, which can help reduce the odds that your teen will become a smoker.
If your teen has already started smoking, avoid threats and ultimatums. Instead, find out why you teen is smoking — and discuss ways to help your teen quit. Avoiding or stopping smoking is one of the best things your teen can do for a lifetime of good health which is what the Hispanic Tobacco Prevention Network is trying to accomplish with our teens fighting against big tobacco companies.
If you would like more information on how to stop teens from starting to smoke please contact the WI Hispanic/Latino Tobacco Prevention Network @ 414-389-6505.
Ruth Rivera
Wisconsin Hispanic Tobacco Prevention Network
