More and more teenagers are engaging in smoking. One teen among four is a smoker, this is in accordance to statistics. These are high school senior students. This is a prevailing situation despite the fact that the parents, government and healthcare services are making efforts towards eliminating it. You might have found them red-handed or you may have caught that smell when they passed you after coming from school. It is not an easy task to make them quit according to most parents. Reading this article will give you good tips to help them quit smoking.
When you find out that your teen is smoking it is important that you keep calm as this is the first step required when dealing with the situation. Your first reaction will be to be angry and furious and this will prompt you to yell or even mention obscenities and therefore this first step is crucial. This reaction will push the teen away whilst the point is to bring them closer and help them understand the various disadvantages so as to help them quit. Nicotine is very addictive and this needs the parents to be very understanding when helping the teens.
During the quitting process supporting them is crucial. It is a must that you support them because nicotine influences their young developing brain and it is very addictive. The advantages of supporting them is that they open up to you and they are able tell you when they get their cravings and you will therefore know what to do about it when they occur. To replace nicotine due to the adverse effects of withdrawal considering alternatives is important. For a nicotine replacement, vaping and the use of e- cigarettes is best as they do not have the harmful substances such as tar that cigarettes have. The smoking behavior is usually passed from parent to child when the parents are smokers and to help the teen quit it is good to quit together as this will be a good way of supporting each other.
The other tip is to educate them of the health risks associated with smoking. Respiratory problems are the effects on the short term and cancers, strokes and heart attacks are the effects on the long term. The underlying factor that led your teen to start smoking is crucial to be known. Stress is a major reason and nicotine acts as a good relaxer though its addiction will cause more stress. It is a great step to seek therapy treatment as it is crucial. To be patient during the whole process is crucial. Understanding quitting is hard as important.