Not starting to smoke is the best form of prevention.

Okay, now I can hear you saying, “That’s not as easy as it sounds. All my friends smoke. Even my dad (or Mom or brother or sister) smokes like a chimney. And my classmates all gather outside classes to smoke and if I don’t smoke with them, they’ll say I’m a geek.” Or a dork or whatever.

Or, if you’re in college, you feel like you’ll be shut out of the activities your “cool” classmates all do in their free time. Okay, I get it.

First of all, the biggest geek in America who dropped out of college to tinker around with his computers is now the richest geek in America. He has a mansion so high tech that it does everything but breathe for him. He has his own private jet – heck, he probably has a fleet of his own jet planes and helicopters and the pilots and stewardess’ to go with them. He’s had his picture on every major magazine in America and is considered the coolest geek in America. You know who I mean --- remember Bill Gates?

And the most popular, coolest – and really envied – “regular” guys around these days are the guys who work for the Geek Squads. Handsome pony tailed dudes or crew cut fellas with Coke Bottle glasses and teen acne, the gals get a glow when these fellows start throwing around their technical jargon. So much for name calling.

The Good News . . . and the Bad News

There was a decline in smoking among middle school and high school youngsters from the late 90s until 2004 . . . then that leveled off. Now kid smokers are said to be increasing once again.

Here’s the latest figures: 224,063 kids became regular smokers in 2007. 71,689 will die prematurely from their addiction.

Will one of those children or grandchildren be yours?

The Good News

In the largest national study on smoking and youth ever, youngsters are saying that they prefer to date those who do NOT smoke.

The attitude that “smoking is dirty” and “I think becoming a smoker shows poor judgment” are held by many while 80 percent of all 8th and 10th graders agree that they prefer to date people who do not smoke.

The bad news is that many youngsters in the 8th grades interviewed in this national survey no longer believed smoking is dangerous although 10th graders did know that.

The Best News of All

Parents can influence their children’s or young adults’ tobacco use.

Here are some ways you can help stop your children from using tobacco:
 Talk to your children about tobacco smoking, dipping or chewing.
 Share the information in this book with your family and with other parents.
 If you smoke, dip or chew tobacco, consider stopping or at the least, do not do so in your home or in your children’s presence.
 Set an example by quitting.
 Work on one or more of the Action Pages in this book with your youngsters.
 Get rid of all the ashtrays, lighters, and other smoking paraphernalia around the house.
 Get involved with smoke free campaigns in your PTA, church, condo board or wherever you can.
 Set an example. Make your home and car smoke free.
 Encourage your family to question the truth of all tobacco advertising.
 Encourage your family to analyze how the different tobacco ads influence or don’t influence them. Make a game of it.
 Have a night when you cut out some old magazines’ tobacco ads and paste them together in collages that show the truths behind the tobacco industry’s ads. Have fun with it.
 If you are politically inclined, let your children know you are contacting your state and national legislators about their votes on kid-protective bills relating to tobacco.
 Go online with your youngsters and show them the photos of Sean Marsee, the young athlete mentioned earlier in this book. One picture is sometimes worth a thousand words.
 If you belong to the PTA or a service organization like the Kiwanis, The Lion’s Clubs of America, Soroptimist clubs or the local Rotary club, find out if they support school “tobacco free environments” in and near schools.

According to a national study conducted to assess school health policies reported in 2000, a “Tobacco free environment” exists if the state, district, or school has a policy prohibiting cigarette, cigar, and pipe smoking, and smokeless tobacco use by students, faculty, staff, and visitors. The policy prohibits tobacco use in school buildings, on school grounds, in school buses or other vehicles used to transport students, and at off-campus, school-sponsored events.

I must be dumber than a box of rocks because I don’t get it. If we were talking about any other addiction, like cocaine or heroin, we’d all be running in the streets to jail those drug pushers like we were running the bulls at Pamplona. Instead, we ignore the many deaths and disfigurements caused by tobacco and those who push it, deliberately glamorize it, and sell it to our youngest and most impressionable youngsters. Hello?

Prevention for the Tempted

Do you play sports? Are you a dancer? Do you sing or play an instrument in the band? Well, guess what? If you smoke, you will not be able to do any of these things very well. It doesn’t matter if you smoke only one cigarette a week or one pack a day—damage starts right away and gets worse as you keep smoking. Smokers can’t get as much oxygen to their muscles so their muscles hurt more when playing sports or exercising. They also run slower and can’t run as far. You will have trouble breathing if you smoke, which is definitely not a good thing if you are active or play an instrument.

Did you know?
That most American youngsters from middle to high school say they won’t date anyone who smokes?
Smoking ads may try to make smoking look cool, but you’re smarter than that. The tobacco companies are not looking out for you, so you have to look out for yourself. Don’t smoke. If you smoke, quit. Either way, you win by not giving them your money!

Did you know?
That even though a lot of teens use tobacco, most don’t. According to a 1998 study, less than 20 percent of teens are regular smokers. In fact, 64 percent of 12- to 17- year olds do not smoke?

Did you know?
That poisons in cigarettes can dry out your skin and cause wrinkles? Some research relates smoking to premature gray hair and hair loss.

Did you know?
That nearly 86 percent of 8th-grade girls DO NOT smoke and 77 percent of 10th-grade girls DO NOT smoke?

Did you know?
That each day more than 3,000 people under age 18 become regular smokers? That's more than 1 million teens per year. Roughly one-third of them will eventually die from a tobacco-related disease.

What Quitting can Do For Your Health

 12 hours after quitting the dangerous carbon dioxide level in your blood drops to normal.
 2 weeks to 3 months after quitting, your heart, and lungs begin to work better.
 1 to 9 months after quitting, coughing, fatigue, and shortness of breath start to go away.
 1 year after quitting, your risk of heart disease goes down.

Okay, you’re at least thinking about smoking and how, “Not starting smoking is the best prevention.”