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August 2, 2006

Parents' Influence Weaken by Cigarette Media Ads

According to a study led by John Pierce, an epidemiologist at the University of California at San Diego, cigarette ads influence teens to smoke even when parents are highly involved in their lives. "Even if you do a good job of parenting, cigarette advertising can undermine your effectiveness," said Pierce. The researchers found that good parenting halves the risk that a teen will start smoking. For the study, good parenting was defined as setting limits for children and taking an active interest in their daily lives. It is important for parents to be an active person in their children's routine because adolescent often show signs of physical addiction to nicotine within five months of smoking their first cigarette. Of the 1,600 12 to 14 year-olds interviewed in this survey, 20 percent of teens who had involved and authoritative parents had tried cigarettes, while 40 percent of teens whose parents were less involved and less restrictive had started smoking. We need to teach our adolescents not to "buy" into the marketing schemes which glorify drugs, alcohol and tobacco. Keep talking to them about the long term effects smoking has on their body, the physical effects it has on them and the importance of staying healthy so they can live a longer life.

Posted by Pat Giuliani at August 2, 2006 2:00 PM