How to prevent smoking in the youngest, in 6 key points

The bad habit of Smoking must be prevented from an early age.

Smoking habits have become one of the major concerns in relation to public health, becoming a serious problem in society.Despite the knowledge of its harmful effects, smoking habits have become a major public health concern, becoming a serious problem in society.

However, there are still a large number of smokers today. Of all this population, adolescents have become one of the main sources of tobacco consumption, and according to the World Health Organization (WHO) there are about 150 million adolescent smokers.

However, there are several ways to prevent smoking among young people, starting with an understanding of the causes that lead them to develop this habit, which is so harmful to their health.

Main causes of smoking in young people.

The reasons why the younger population is interested in smoking are diverse. Nevertheless, knowing how to recognize them is of vital importance in order to be able to intervene in time and prevent smoking in young people and adolescents..

1. Social acceptance

Social acceptance is the main and best known reason why an adolescent begins to be interested in smoking and, consequently, to want to try it. and consequently wanting to try it. Starting to smoke has become a rite of integration through which young people feel they are part of a group.

Likewise, curiosity, the desire to experiment or the mere fact of believing that it is fashionable or that it can make them popular, are also major incentives for young people to start smoking.

2. Smoking as a challenge to norms

The time of prepuberty and adolescence are characterized by a strong feeling of rebelliousness, provocation and a great impulse to transgress.of rebellion, provocation and a strong urge to transgress. For all these young people, smoking is one of the quickest and most effective ways to challenge the rules and break the norms imposed by their parents, society or school.

3. Smoking to relieve stress

Influenced by the beliefs surrounding smoking and tobacco itself, many of the teenagers who decide to start smoking are influenced by their parents, society or school, many adolescents who decide to start smoking do so with the intention of alleviating the symptoms of stress and anxiety when faced with high stress situations.They may be faced with high-pressure situations such as exam periods or emotionally charged events.

However, what they do not know is the reaction that smoking will have on their body, since they will feel relaxed for a few moments but then the feeling of stress will be greater, so they will need to smoke more and more.

4. Parental influence

The entire body of research on smoking habits agrees that adolescents whose parents are smokers are at greater risk of becoming smokers and nicotine addicts. and addicted to nicotine than other youth.

Therefore, those adults who smoke and have children should be aware of the influence this habit has on their children, both directly through the consequences of tobacco smoke and in the medium to long term by causing addiction in their children.

5. Media and advertising

Although it is currently forbidden to carry out any type of campaign that promotes smoking among adolescents, scenes, whether in movies, television or print media, in which any person or character lights up a cigarette are more than commonplace..

Just as the influence of parents on smoking has been demonstrated, there is strong evidence that advertisements and the media have the capacity to increase the desire to smoke in adolescents.

6. Lack of information

Although more and more campaigns are being carried out to prevent smoking, both in adolescents and adults, myths and false beliefs that benefit smoking still linger in the collective mind..

All these erroneous but very popular beliefs ensure that the negative consequences of smoking are buried by the positive image that people still have of it.

Tips for the prevention of smoking in young people

One of the most important factors when it comes to preventing smoking is that of to prevent adolescents from starting to smoke, thus trying to avoid the first consumption of cigarettes.. The reason is that adolescents start smoking for the above reasons without knowing the consequences of it, and not being aware of the level of addiction that it can cause.

Some tips or ways to prevent young people from starting to smoke are the following.

1. Provide information

As in any other type of awareness campaign, the first and possibly the most important step is to provide information, the first and possibly the most important step is to provide young people with information about smoking..

It is obvious that the entire population, regardless of age, is aware that smoking has a large number of negative consequences for a person's health. However, it seems that just knowing about it is not enough.

With this in mind, it is of utmost importance to facilitate and provide the younger population with information on the real effects and consequences of smoking, including the diseases it can cause, the effects on physical and mental deterioration, and the percentage of deaths that exist due to smoking-related causes.

2. Psychoeducation

Another measure that needs to be taken is to provide information on the psychological effects of smoking. providing information on the psychological effects of cigarette smoking..

Since the harmful effects of smoking usually appear in the medium to long term, a young person may start smoking with the illusion of quitting before these effects appear. Therefore, it is essential to inform about its addictive potential, about how addiction mechanisms work and about the short-term consequences of starting or regular smoking.

3. Lead by example

As mentioned above, one of the reasons why young people start smoking is by pure imitation, either by their parents, a family member, friends, etc.etc.

Unfortunately, in many cases it is not possible to lead by example, since in a large number of cases the adults around the young person are already regular tobacco users.

In any case, it is vitally important that those who are responsible for intervening or interacting with young people are able to set an example and do not smoke in front of young people.

4. Encouraging reasoning

This measure consists of allowing young people to develop critical thinking about tobacco, by allowing them, after providing them with a briefing on the subject, to develop a critical approach to smoking.by allowing them, after being provided with objective information, to make their own judgments and evaluations about smoking.

5. Teaching them to say "no

One of the most common situations an adolescent encounters is when a friend or acquaintance offers him/her a cigarette. The lack of emotional education and assertive techniques, together with the fear of being rejected, cause that in most cases the adolescent ends up accepting the offer of a cigarette..

Therefore, providing skills that allow them to say "no" and refuse tobacco consumption without feeling bad about it are fundamental to prevent young people from starting to smoke.

6. Promote physical activity

Promoting healthy lifestyleswhich includes adolescents following healthy lifestyles and practicing some type of physical exercise is a very useful tool to prevent the advent of smoking habits in adolescents.

A young person motivated by sport and physical health is less likely to engage in practices that are detrimental to his or her health, including smoking.