If you are an adult and ever tried to quit smoking, you realize how hard it can be. But have you ever found yourself wondering why teens have a harder time quitting smoking than adults. Teenagers are faced with a completely different set of challenges when attempting to quit smoking cigarettes than are adults.
Whether you may realize it or not, teen smoking is one of the major problems found in our society. Parents who have teenagers that smoke cigarettes find many challenges attempting to get their teens to quit – Or to keep them from beginning the habit in the first place.
Teenage smoking had been on the decline since the mid to late 1990s. But data that has come out just recently is beginning to show that cigarette smoking among teens is once again on the rise.
As adults we are aware of the serious long-term health risks and consequences of teenage smoking. We are all too familiar with the evidence pointing to chronic smoking related diseases. However, we wonder why some teens tend to ignore this evidence and begin smoking in the face of the many reasons why they shouldn’t.
Among the various different reasons given for the difficulties in teenagers quitting smoking are friends and family who smoke, peer pressure, and advertising geared toward teenagers. Some of the other reasons may include a natural rebelliousness of the teen, or smoking to the relieve feelings of anxiety or sadness.
In the sections that follow, we consider some of the reasons why teens may have a harder time quitting smoking and how you may, as that teen’s parent Or guardian, may begin to help.
